Our Engagement
(according to Dave)
During the summer of 2010, Amy and I were planning a trip to the British Virgin Islands. What had initially been a short weekend trip to a nearby beach had turned into a several-day romantic getaway in an all-inclusive resort. For a long time, I'd felt Amy and I would just be together forever, but this trip was a wake-up call to include her in that decision :) I then began a long-term research project on the Internet to figure out what I needed to do to get a ring she'd like. This is not an easy task.
Finding the Ring
As the departure date loomed closer, I still hadn't done much more than familiarize myself with the "5 C's." When discussing this during band practice, Tony (the guitar player in my band) told me of his plans to propose to his girlfriend. Amy and I had been dating a lot longer than they had, so I knew I had to get myself organized. I also figured that if I proposed to Amy after our romantic island getaway, she would've thought I was a complete idiot.
I then solicited opinions from my two closest friends that are married: John and Pat. They had great suggestions and words of encouragement and, more importantly, some recommended places to go shop. GP, the drummer of the band, also suggested a place, and it's there that I ended up getting Amy's ring.
The jeweler had a huge selection, which made the decision all the more difficult. I looked at several rings and found one I thought Amy would really like – until the saleswoman mentioned the "engagement ring expo" they were having that weekend. More choices! Despite that fact that Amy and I were leaving in less than 2 weeks, I held out to make sure I got the best thing I could. The fact that it normally takes over a month to have a ring made was not lost on me.
After looking at 15+ more engagement rings that weekend, I decided that my original choice was still the right one. We looked at diamonds, found one that looked great and would fit the ring, meaning it would be ready in time for our trip (incidentally, later that day, Tony called me from the same jeweler to ask what I had gotten Amy; he was shopping for his girlfriend's ring, on advice of our drummer, GP – he should get a kickback from this place for the suggestion :).
Getting it There
I left work early to pick it up (two days before our trip) and become instantly panicked when I saw the giant leather box it came in. I was expecting the stereotypical small ring box that would easily fit in my pocket (and through security, and all the way to where I was planning on proposing).
I found a tie-tack box at home that fit the right perfectly (for transport only :), and began packing for the trip. My main concern at this point was getting through security without Amy's memory of our engagement being me on one knee, in the security checkpoint, with no shoes or belt on, popping the question in front of a bunch of strangers.
I decided to keep the ring in the original box for transport, and put it in my backpack (thus keeping me from having to removing it from my pocket in front of Amy). Thankfully, we made it through security without incident and I started to breathe a bit easier. I was still incredibly nervous though; it was going to be at least 24 more hours before we'd be in my planned proposal spot, the weather reports were all rain, and I had no backup plan.
We arrived in BVI after a very turbulent flight (which I almost completely ignored, since I was too preoccupied with other matters :). After a quick boat trip to the resort, through the pouring rain, I was quickly coming up empty with a backup plan; I wanted to propose on the beach…a non-rainy beach.
The weather started to clear up during dinner, and we started discussing what we wanted to do with ourselves. While we had no specific plans, we knew we wanted to visit the Baths at some point, and, since this was the location I was planning to propose, I gently suggested we go the following day. My reasoning to Amy was that the weather would be guaranteed sunny, but the real reason was to get this ring out of my pocket!!
The Proposal
We made plans to go after breakfast the next day (again, I nudged as gently as I could without looking suspicious). We took a cab that dropped us off at the top of a trail down to the Baths. I had chosen this place very specifically; while there were beautiful beaches at the resort, I thought this one would work especially well. Outside of the general romantic setting of a Carribean beach, this beach was supposed to be relatively empty and private. Amy's not one to want to be the center of attention, so I thought this would be perfect.
Of course, as soon as we hop out of the cap, a giant tour bus pulls up and dumps out 15 loud, annoying tourists! I'm starting to panic, because there's no way I'm going to give up, after getting this far! I should mention that we're in our swimsuits; I've got the ring in the tie-tack box in my pocket, and I need to propose before we get in the water, and in a way that doesn't give away my plans to Amy.
We made it to the beach and the tour group headed to the left, into the Baths themselves. I wandered to the right, where there was (fortunately!) a very picturesque beach – with no one around! I started fidgeting in my pocket, trying to get the ring out without Amy noticing anything. She suggested we make our way back to the Baths themselves. It was now or never, so I told her I had a proposal (something I actually do say frequently, though typically before something like suggesting somewhere to grab a drink before dinner). I turned around, asked her to marry me, and she accepted! That's when my relaxing weekend began (with my fiancée instead of my girlfriend :).