let’s get married!

While planning how I would propose, I knew that I wanted to keep it cute, intimate, and ultimately make it a surprise. Choosing to surprise her limited my options a bit as anything out of the ordinary would pique Sarah's curiosity. (Sarah is extremely difficult to surprise. She's smarter than me and somehow always figures out at least one Christmas gift a year that I've gotten for her.) Whatever would lead up to the proposal had to feel completely normal. I recruited our friend Emily to help. She and Sarah are very close and I needed her to schedule a friend date. They would meet at a coffee shop and head to the park to catch up. This wouldn't feel out of the ordinary for Sarah. I suspected Sarah would expect me to propose on a weekend, so I had Emily schedule the friend date for the middle of the week. The Saturday before I proposed, Emily and I went to the park to scope everything out. We planned out everything from the location that I would propose at to the exact place I would park so Sarah wouldn't accidentally see my car. The moment Sarah left for her friend date, it was go time! I threw all my decorations into the car, had my brother grab some flowers, and meet me at the park. I chose a tree that had a natural canopy. We decorated the space with firefly lights, a table with roses, champagne, and a picture of us. When it came time for Emily and Sarah to walk by, I had one of our favorite songs playing. As soon as they turned the corner and Sarah noticed me, she froze and began crying. I helped her into the space, took off her bag and mask and asked if we could dance. We swayed a bit to the music, and I gave a speech Sarah and I barely remember. All I remember is "The last 3 1/2 years have been the best years of my life and I want to keep it going forever." I got down on one knee, began crying, and asked "Sarah Joy Dixit, will you marry me?" She said yes! We sat under the tree and enjoyed some celebratory champagne. It was beautiful and went perfectly. :)