The Proposal

If you know me, you know I ask way too many questions.

I’m nosy. I notice everything. I accidentally ruin surprises for myself more often than I’d like to admit.

So when Alexei told me later that he’d been planning this proposal for over six months… I genuinely couldn’t believe he pulled it off.

Looking back, there were so many little things that could’ve tipped me off, but they all made sense at the time. It wasn’t until the day started unfolding that I realized absolutely nothing about it was random.

Instead of a traditional proposal, Alexei planned an entire scavenger hunt. My dad proposed to my mom on Christmas over 30 years ago with a scavenger hunt too, (he hid her ring in the train that went around the tree) which made the idea even more special. Every stop had a clue, a poem, or a memory behind it. I even got to feed some ponies halfway way through.

Apparently people had been keeping secrets from me for months. Friends flew in. Family helped. Plans changed. Backup plans had backup plans. It honestly sounds stressful writing this, and I wasn’t even the one planning it! My favorite detail, though, was the dress.

Months before, we were walking through the mall and I literally just pointed at a dress in a window. I remember saying something along the lines of, “If I get engaged, I’d want it to be in a dress like that.” I spent all of less than a minute admiring it.

I completely forgot that I even said it out loud. He didn’t.

He went back, bought the dress, hid it (I actually don’t even know where). Hence, the scavenger hunt. Because, how the heck else would I just coincidentally be in hair, makeup, nails, AND a WHITE dress of all things?!

I lied. My favorite part was actually the debrief following the proposal. The more I found out afterward, the more I realized there wasn’t a single part of the day that wasn’t intentional. From my favorite flowers to my favorite drinks and foods, every little detail had been thought through.

It was so Alexei. Thoughtful, patient, ridiculously good at keeping a secret, apparently.

Now that we’re planning our wedding, I keep thinking back to that day, not just because it was the proposal of course, but because its such an incredible feeling to be known and loved in such a way.