The Proposal

So this update has been a long time in the making and actually is the reason why I haven't really blogged since July since this news should really take prior On Friday, August 15th, 2008, I proposed to my best friend and special lady in beautiful Rockport. Her answer was, "Yes!"

Let us backtrack...

The Setup

The ring

This was going to be a difficult mission to keep it a surprise. Taryn was with me when I asked for her parents' permission when we were vacationing in Hawaii in July. Also add the fact that because there are so many options to figure out in an engagement ring, we had been looking together and found a beautiful diamond and setting on vacation as well.

Fast forward a bit to August: Our anniversary was back in April and there's no celebration/sneak that I could provide cover for the proposal. However the summer was winding down, so I told her to keep her Friday free so we could take a day trip somewhere before the school year started. Add in a last minute wisdom tooth removal (my remaining two) two days before the big day, as well as a slew of engagements the weeks prior, and you get a good picture of what might have been running around in my head.

The Proposal

The location: Rockport, MA

I settled on Rockport, MA for the destination of our day trip, the lovely little town being one of our favorite date spots. The weather forecast was predicting hail and rain, however we wound up having beautiful sunny and mild weather. Doofus that I am, I accidentally gave her some clues:

• She noticed I was wearing the same shirt I wore on our original date to Rockport. Instead of playing it off as just a coincidence, I excitedly said, "I know!!"
• I was taking short videos with my digi-cam. I haven't taken videos in a few years. Oops.
• After we were done with lunch and sufficiently walked around town for a few hours, she said she was sad that we'd have to go back to Boston soon, to which I replied, "Oh, but our day's not over yet! I mean...er..."

Yea, smooth I-am-not. Anyhow, we head to the car, and we drive around a bit, taking in the gorgeous view, and find parking by this lovely spot by the beach, with a rock wall at perfect sitting height to gaze longingly into the ocean. I suggested we could just hang out here since we were in no rush to get back, and maybe even get in a game of Carcassonne (a favorite of mine, to which Taryn introduce me to). Determining that the rock wall provided a poor surface to play, we decided against playing, but this gave me the perfect opportunity to sneak my guitar out from the car. I am still shocked that I was able to take out my guitar, in its hard-shelled case, and put it directly behind/underneath her, all without her knowledge (Take that as a testament to how nice the view was!). With guitar in place, my heart started beating rapidly...this was the moment! Though its a bit of a blur, I did manage to take out ring, say a little something, put it on the wrong hand, Taryn corrected me, I proposed, she said yes, and I finished by serenading her with the song "I Could Not Ask For More" by Edwin McCain.

The toast with friends and family

One bonus surprise that I managed to complete without a hitch is a surprise engagement dinner with our close friends at The Stockyard (For those of you who know Taryn, she loves her prime rib) and I am especially thankful for everyone who kept it a surprise and were able to celebrate with the both of us.