The week leading up to the proposal was a stressful one for Stephen. Well, at least the 48 hours prior to, but we'll get there. It all started when he decided he wanted to propose to Christina at one of their favorite wineries in Wallingford, CT the weekend of August 12, 2017. Stephen enlisted the help of some work colleagues to prep a beautiful dock at the vineyard with rose petals, a blanket and wine. The week before, Christina told Stephen that they would be celebrating her Dad's birthday on Sunday, which was perfect because he planned on proposing on Saturday. After keeping a close eye on the weather, Stephen had to change his plans to Sunday because it was going to rain Saturday. He immediately called Christina's Dad and asked if he could move his birthday celebration to Saturday instead. He was fine with it, and even made up an excuse to Christina about changing the date, which she totally bought (Phew! Crisis averted!). Stephen traveled home to NY the Thursday before to pick up the ring that he had shipped to his Mom's house. When he returned to CT, he hid the ring and took their new puppy Sam for a walk. On their walk, Sam decided to bite through the front of his harness, and ran around outside in a frenzy. All Stephen kept thinking was "Oh no, how am I going to go home and explain that our fur child ran away and feel OK about proposing on Sunday?!" Long story short, Stephen returned home with Sam huffing and puffing, sweat pouring down his forehead. When he walked through the door with their pup, Christina exclaimed, "What the heck happened to you?" Little did she know, he had just averted two major crises in a matter of 48 hours. Fast forward to Sunday--the weather and scenery were perfect. He had told Christina they would be meeting friends at the vineyard. Stephen led her down to the beautifully decorated dock, in close proximity to the 'beware of snakes and snapping turtles' sign, and to Christina's surprise, he proposed! She said yes!