How did I do it? Since so many of you have asked the question of how I proposed I thought I would share the details with the world… actually I would have shared them either way, it was just a matter of time and I have a few minutes right now…
The Background
Since Catie is not a techie or a fellow geek like my self I could not use MSN Messenger, Skype, my blog, Slashdot, or a spot watch to do the proposal, though I am sure I could have come up with great ideas for each. I decided to try and do something a little more traditional that was still special and hopefully romantic. We discussed some of our friend’s proposals and one thing was made clear to me, she didn’t want to be proposed to over dinner, so I kept up this end of the bargain. She also stated early on that it was not possible to surprise her, because she had her ways of finding out, so I took this as a challenge…
The Proposal *Don’t feel like reading… scroll down for short version*
About 3 weeks ago I began planning a trip to the U.P. so that I could see some of my friends at Michigan Tech (where I used to go to school). I was going to be taking this trip with some friends, one of which included Catie’s younger brother Rob. This was originally going to be a real trip, because I did not think the ring would be done in time, though it turned out to be the perfect excuse.
On Tuesday the 9th, I went home to pick up the ring. Catie knew about the ring at this point in time, though I told her I was just going home to take care of some other business and I would stop in to see if the ring may be complete. When I called her later that afternoon she asked if I got to see it and/or pick it up. I told her that I got to see it and it was very beautiful, but could not pick it up because I had to make one last payment and was going to be gone over the weekend anyhow. Catie said she understood but was just so excited.
That evening when I got back to Grand Rapids, I stopped by campus to work on some things with a group for one of my classes. Shortly after this meeting I stopped by Rob and Brittany’s (Rob’s girlfriend) to show them the ring and talk about the proposal. At this point in time they were the only ones to know about the details and this was because I needed some others to help me pull this off.
Brittany, now knowing I had the ring and everything was a go, asked Catie if she would like to do something on Friday after school. Catie replied saying that would be great since I would be gone, but had to attend a baby shower at 5:00 and could do something afterwards. This threw a little kink into my plans because she is supposed to be catching a flight to Chicago at 6:53 and would never make the flight if she didn’t come home right after school. I began contemplating all sorts of ways to get her home from school, but everything I came up with brought more people into the picture and I really did not want to this. Finally I decided that I would have a single rose sent to her, with a note telling her she needs to catch a plane at 6:53 and will find out more details when she gets home.
At this point in time I began driving to Chicago, hoping that she would receive the flower on time and come right home. Later that afternoon I got a call from her brother that stated she did receive the flower and was on her way home. When Catie got home she found more flowers, a note that had been printed in my handwriting, thanks to the Tablet PC My Font Tool, as well as an outfit to wear on the plane. The note basically stated that she would be flying to Chicago and that a limo would be waiting to pick her up at the airport.
At 5:35 PM CST the 14 person limo arrived at the hotel to pick me up. I came downstairs and got into the limo with a large bag of rose petals and the ring of course. I told the limo driver that I would be proposing once we got to the airport so just treat this as a normal pick up and pretend that I am not in the limousine. Unfortunately this company was an equal opportunity employer and the driver did not understand what I wanted to do. About half way to the airport he asks me again, “So she do not know you are here? Is this surprise? Is her birthday?” I began explaining the situation and finally just pulled out the ring and show him. At this point in time he understood what I meant and ignored me for the rest of the trip.
Once we got closer to the airport I covered the back of the limo with the petals and piled some up on the door so that when it was opened they would fall out on to the ground. I also put in the Monster Ballads CD Vol. 1 and set it to play track 4, Almost Paradise which is a song Catie loves. As we are driving through the loop at the airport I spotted Catie and pointed her out to the driver, he then slowly pulled over to pick her up. Once Catie got in the car and the door closed I dropped to one knee and asked her to marry me. We then began heading back to the Renaissance Hotel, where I had reserved the Rivera Suite and the rest is pretty much history.
*Short Version*
- I send a single rose and note to school
- Catie comes home and gets on a plane to Chicago
- I picked Catie up in a limo, where the back is covered in rose petals
- I proposed to Catie when she gets into the limo
- We head back to the Renaissance Hotel
- Hang out in the suite then get some dinner
- I blog about it…