Our Engagement Story...

A few months before Sean asked me to set aside the weekend of May 6th (2000) and make sure we didn't schedule anything. I typically keep track of our social calendar so it was key he tell me. Anyhow, he said he couldn't tell me what we would be doing, only that it was a surprise.

The Wednesday before said weekend, he gives me a note written on beautiful stationary. This was special because he knows how much I still value hand written correspondence (which has become nearly non-existent). The note was to tell me a little bit about the weekend, such as what to pack and what to expect, without giving away the destination. I was not to know of any event details until each event happened. At this point he was saying it was an anniversary celebration and I believed it. It made sense.

On Friday the 5th, we were checking our luggage in and boarding a plane headed for LaGuardia. I was so excited. I love New York City and I had not visited in quite some time. Plus, this was my first trip to NYC with Sean. It was wonderful that I got to pack everything but the kitchen sink and use the excuse that I didn't really know what to expect (even though he told me EXACTLY what I needed). I think I had 10 pairs of shoes and associated outfits for 2 days of clothes changes.

The story only gets better!

A limo service picked us up and drove us to the Four Seasons Hotel in a Mercedes. Do you get the idea he's gotten to know me pretty well? : ) It was a bit late and we missed the comedy show he had planned for us, but we decided we could have a nice dinner and have a fun night in the city that never sleeps.

We checked in, unpacked a little and changed. But before we headed down, Sean said he needed to take something with us and needed to get it ready. Once he was ready, we headed downstairs pulling behind him a huge suitcase.

I'm asking "what in the?.". He just keeps saying it's a surprise. Then in the lobby as we're approaching the attendant behind the desk to ask where we could get a late dinner, I could see this mortified look on their faces because their guest is carrying their own luggage. Not to mention that it looks like Sean might be leaving while my luggage stays. It was funny. Sean quickly assures them everything is fine and we just need to find a place to eat.

We got back in our car. Oh yes, I forgot to mention we had our car for the night. And we headed to L'Express, a wonderful little French Bistro. The place was very nice and very New York. I loved it.

We finished our dinner and Sean said "Are you ready for your gift." He goes to the car and brings out this huge box, which was beautifully wrapped. It was so beautiful I didn't want to tear the paper, but I did anyway. Inside the box was a gorgeous 11mm climbing rope. I thought "What an AWESOME anniversary gift." Then I read one of the little notes in the box. It read...

"If you're going to tie a knot then you better have a rope...".

I instantly thought, there's a little black box in here somewhere. I searched and searched to no avail. Then he pointed out that the second note said...

"You better inspect your rope!"

And when I finally did, I found a beautiful ring on the rope. Sean then got on one knee and asked me if I would spend the rest of my life with him. I was so choked up, I started to cry and SAID YES!! I don't think I could believe it was happening. He really threw me off track with the anniversary idea so it really was a surprise.

On Saturday he took me shopping for a gown and shoes so I could have something nice to wear to the play "Amadeous" that night. (Course he had me bring a back up gown in case.) THIS was a very phenomenal event because Sean typically can't handle 10 minutes of shopping but this day we shopped ALL DAY!

We enjoyed the Broadway drama Amadeous and a wonderful dinner at a very nice Russian restaurant. Sean wore a very sharp tux and I wore the wonderful gown he bought me. The weekend just continued to be perfect. Sunday was a free day. We had brunch, hung out at Central Park and Times Square and took our time getting to the airport.

It truly was a perfect engagement weekend. I told Sean that I would have been just as excited about our engagement regardless of where we would have been, but it was that much more perfect because he did it just as I imagined it. And I never told him or anyone else of my dream engagement in NYC.

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