When it happened
Friday, September 16, 2011
How we got engaged
Well I wont be the first guy to tell you this, but a proposal is not a one-day process. It was strategically planned for months in advance. I knew we were meant to be together after our first date, but I waited for our relationship to develop before I set my master plan into action. It was shortly after my family vacation to Italy that I started "shopping". While it took me 2 months of scowering the jewelry district, I finally found the perfect ring (yes I did design it!). I am confident that Ali will adamently confirm that the effort was well worth it.
So with "the goods" secured, I now had to implement the proposal. The scene had to be a romantic one, and it definitely needed to be a surprise. After thinking long and hard I decided that the Terranea resort in Palos Verdes would be the ideal place. It was easy enough to come up with a story about my family wanting to do a special dinner at the resort. But how do I get Ali to go down there, without my family, and without her having any suspisions? Well if you know Ali as well as I do, you would know that she absolutely loves tidepools. That was it! I told her that my parents and sis would be meeting us down there as they had some family friends to visit first, and that I thought it would be fun if we went to the resort early to check out the tidepools. Ali bought it instantly!
Well we arrived at our destination and made our way to the beach (I had already scoped the place out earlier in the day), and as luck would have there was only one couple down there and they were packing their stuff up to leave. We would have the place to ourselves!! Unfortunately the tidepools had much to be desired, but it was low tide so we decided to walk around and find a nice place to watch the sunset. So, with Ali in her dress and me in my suit we started scaling the rocks and found a nice secluded cove (I couldn't have planned it more perfectly). I must admit that I stalled for a bit as we explored a nearby cave. But, as we walked down to the water I knew the time was right. I grabbed Ali's hand, dropped to one knee, and confessed my undying love for her. Although completely caught off guard, I could tell that behind her intial look of dumbfounded confusion, was pure joy. And yes, she said the one word that every guy hopes for, making me the luckiest man in the world.