Lori and Joe's Wedding

As I packed for the weekend, I anxiously wondered if this would be the weekend we would get engaged.  As we started our drive Joe handed me a card.  He wanted me to open it, but I said I would wait until we arrived and he stopped driving.  All I could think was that this card might be the beginning of the proposal and I couldn't understand why he would want me to open it while he was driving. We brought our bags up to the room and then decided to walk around before dinner. We strolled along the many paths and porches and watched the sun sink lower in the sky.  When we returned to the room to get ready for the formal dinner, I realized that I left the card unopened in the car.  Joe went to get it as I started to get ready for the evening.  It was a very lovely anniversary card, but nothing that screamed "soon to be engaged."  I figured I would have to wait for dinner. 

We had a fantastic meal; I remember convincing Joe to try the bison as I went with my usual standby of chicken.  I carefully nibbled on the bread and slowly drank my glass of water as we waited for our meal.  Almost everyone has heard stories about a bride-to-be who chipped a tooth or almost swallowed the ring that her fiancé ingeniously hid within some of the dinner. Well there was no dental emergency throughout the meal.  I figured it must be with dessert.  I was disappointed as I finished my dessert; I figured I must have been wrong about this weekend.

The next morning we awoke to surprisingly blue skies.   We hiked up the mountain to enjoy

 the view and planned to go ice skating and swimming later.  The views were spectacular as we watched the fog roll over the mountain side.  We hiked down the mountain and headed for the ice skating pavilion after a quick change.  We were the only two on the ice for awhile; it was peaceful to just skate around.  I was hoping to get the most out of the weekend and also could not wait to go swimming.  I know that in the thirty minutes we were ice skating I must have asked Joe the time at least ten times. (I wanted to leave enough time to shower after swimming to get the chlorine out of my hair). 

We stopped in front of the fire place at one end of the rink.  Joe turned to me and said, "I love you." To which I responded, "I love you too" with a quick kiss.  He asked if we could go around the rink just one more time.  I didn't know why he wanted to go around once more, but I figured this wouldn't take too much time from swimming.  We went around one last time once again stopping in front of the fire place.  He turned to me and said  "I love you" with something else I can't remember because I was so fixated on going swimming. I gave him another quick kiss and turned and started to skate to the exit.  He yelled, "Hey come back here!"  As I turned around, he was down on one knee ice skates and all with the ring in his hand.  I nearly fell over.  I think I said something that resembled yes as I tried to help him up.

Here I was convinced on the drive up that we would get engaged, then disappointed and consigned to just a regular weekend away by the end of dinner the first night.  Joe managed to surprise me in a way that was more than fitting--on an ice skating rink wearing the same clothes he had worn on our first (blind) date seven years earlier.  Oh, and by the way we did have enough time to go swimming in case anyone other than me was worried.

     So I started on my quest, visiting a few retail stores in various malls and researching diamonds on the internet.  The first step was figuring out exactly what type of stone Lori would want.  We hadn’t ever discussed stone preferences like some couples do, so I was really flying by the seat of my pants.  I really fell in love with this one particular stone at Tiffany’s which the retailer told me was “made especially for them.”  It was then that my quest for this style of ring began.  I quickly became very familiar with the 4 C’s but that wasn’t enough for me…I needed to delve deeper into the characteristics of the diamond looking into the depth, table, girdle, finish, polish, symmetry, etc.  I finally narrowed my search down to one particular diamond and 2 possible settings.  I was really torn between a simple solitaire setting and one with a little more diamond accents.  I had told no one and I mean no one that I was going to pop the question that weekend (not even my best men, Brian and Andy, or our families).

     I can remember it like it was yesterday, sitting in the It’s About Time lab at my desk.  I decided that I needed a woman’s opinion on the matter.  So I called my friend and coworker Jill on the phone and casually asked her to come by my desk as I wanted to ask her a question.  A few minutes later Jill strolled in and that’s when I completely floored her.  “So Jill take a look at my screen.  I need your opinion on this ring.”  And that’s when Jill lost it, letting out a very loud “Oh my god!”  Everyone in the office must have wondered what was going on.  And that’s when my boss Dana said, “What’s going on out there?  Is someone having a baby or getting married?”  Jill and I both smiling from ear to ear replied, “Oh no.  It’s nothing.”  But Dana knew something was up.  With Jill’s expert advise, she advised me to go with the solitaire setting which was definitely the right choice with Lori’s personality.

     Later that evening, I ordered the ring and hoped it would get delivered before we left for Mohonk.  After about a week, I finally got the e-mail that the retailer had shipped the ring.  That’s when the real fun started.  I must have checked the Fedex tracking website a good 100 times over the next 48 hours.  Finally, my inconspicuous package was delivered to the office with only a day to spare.  It was perfect in my eyes and Jill was pretty ecstatic over it too.  I was pretty sure Lori was going to love it.

     Now came the hard part, figuring out exactly when and how to give Lori this beautiful ring.  After all, a girl needs a good proposal story!  As most of you know, Lori and I met on a blind date set up by our two friends, Lauren and Tom, at an Our Lady of Victory Ice Skating event.  So I thought that it would only be appropriate to propose to Lori while ice skating.  To step-up the sentimental notch a bit more, I remembered what I had worn to our first meeting- this blue polo shirt and my black leather jacket, both of which I still owned.  So the plan was set, but the only problem was it was April 12^th and spring was upon us.  According to the Mohonk website, the ice skating rink would be closing sometime in April depending on the weather.  So I was really praying that a heat wave wouldn’t come and totally ruin my plan.  Luckily, the ice rink was open and to my surprise we essentially had the entire place to ourselves.  The setting was perfect.  A big beautiful stone fireplace at one end of the rink and only one other couple figure skating at the other end.  So we skated around for a good half hour or so.  With each lap, my confidence grew stronger.  I was finally ready to propose in front of the fireplace when all of a sudden this worker decided to refill the fire place with more wood.  Way to totally ruin my picturesque moment!  By this point, Lori was ready to get off the ice and continue on with our day by going to the spa and pool before our checkout time.  Somehow I dissuaded Lori’s attempts to get off the ice for a few more laps.

   Finally, the fireplace guy completed his task and went away.  Now all I needed was a few more laps to get my courage up again.  We stopped in front of the fireplace on our last lap and I started setting up my proposal.  After my first phrase, Lori leaned in, gave me a kiss, told me I was corny and then turned away in an attempt to skate off the ice.  “Wait!” I said and pulled her arm back toward me.  When she turned around, I was down on one knee and asked her to marry me.  She was truly surprised to the point where she almost fell right then and there on the ice.  Obviously, she said yes, but it was the look on her face that truly made the moment for me.  I will never forget that moment, and I don’t think she will ever forget it either!  We took a couple of pictures and then continued on with our plan of going to the spa and pool, and I convinced Lori to go canoeing with me (a decision I think she still regrets to this day as it was pretty windy and we almost capsized into a few boulders).

     We continued our fun-filled weekend by visiting Lori’s coworker at his upstate home.  Gleaming with our new found engagement excitement, we spent a day in the mountains without cell phone reception.  We would have to contain our news until we returned to Westchester the next day.  One-by-one we called friends and visited family to share the great news with them.  It was a once in a lifetime moment to experience together as we told all of the loved ones in our lives of our news.  I can’t wait to reach the other milestones of my life with Lori by my side.  It is truly an amazing feeling to have found that special someone to spend the rest of your life with.  Thanks Lauren and Tom for changing our lives!