The Engagement Story

It recently became very, very clear to me that Andy was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I bought an engagement ring for her in late July, and booked us a room at our favorite place, Hampton Beach, for the last weekend of September 2010. The room was at the Ashworth, the place where I had envisioned us having our wedding reception. My plan was to take her back to Hampton for that weekend, and propose to her on the beach.

Just one problem-- I totally screwed it up. I panicked about the ring, worrying about whether she'd like it or not. We had looked at a few possibilities on one of her previous trips here, but the setting we both agreed on was no longer available. I had used my best judgment to pick out a worthy substitute, but I didn't want to mess up what would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. In a fit of anxiety, I told Andy that I had bought her a ring. The conversation over the next few days also revealed that she was not fooled about my reason for booking the nicest room at the nicest hotel in Hampton for us to stay at in September. She knew exactly what I was planning.

With both secrets out of the bag and our ideal wedding date of September 24th, 2011 unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances (my plan was to propose to her exactly one year before our wedding date), I decided to come up with something that would completely blow her mind. We have always enjoyed an extremely unconventional relationship, but I decided that when it came to the proposal, it had to knock her off her feet.

Andy was coming back for a visit this weekend, August 14th. We knew we wanted to have the actual wedding ceremony on the beach somewhere, but we weren't sure exactly what spot. So, I suggested taking a ride up to Hampton to pick out our perfect marriage spot (which actually ended up being in Rye, the next town north along the coast from Hampton). Here it is:

Check it out on Google Maps if you like.

When we finally found it, we looked around and agreed that, yes, this was it. IT. So, I took her hand and explained to her that since we were changing the wedding date, I thought it was only fitting to change the engagement date too. I took the ring out of my pocket and asked her to marry me.

After recovering from being absolutely stunned, she said "Yes." A million times. I have never been more happy in my life.

A passing stranger who was there with what I assume was his girlfriend approached me moments later. He said "I couldn't help noticing what just happened here. Congratulations! I proposed to my wife here too." He went on to explain that she had passed away, but it was still a special place. He asked me for my camera so he could take a picture of us, and congratulated us again before we went off on our own.

We stopped to collect some rocks and seashells as souvenirs of this momentous occasion. After a few minutes to collect ourselves and let the awesomeness of the moment sink in, we headed back to the car. As I was opening the door to get into the drivers seat, a strange old man made his way through the bushes that formed the border between the parking area and the rocky shore.

He looked at me and said: "Son, I don't know who you are... but you done good."

Andy and I have always believed that the Universe has somehow brought us together, and has been giving us signs all along that we were right for each other. I have to wonder about this strange old man in his safety-orange outfit and wide-brimmed fishing hat who appeared almost out of nowhere to offer his comments. Was he just a regular guy who happened to witness our special moment? Or, could it be that the Universe was giving us its blessing?