The Proposal Story

Posted October 31st, 2008 by jeremy

The Plan:

I’d decided it was time to pop the question. I told Joy to block out an entire day so we could go on a surprise day trip for her birthday – sneaky enough. I’d actually been researching and planning for months with my friends and family to find the perfect gift, the perfect trip, the perfect experience.

The plan was simple – we’d drive down to Battleground where I’d found
a hot air balloon company ready to make this an engagement to remember.
Captain Crystal was amazing and helped coordinate the special day
by scheduling a sunrise trip with a number of special surprises for
the lucky lady.

The Execution:

We began the trip with a blindfolded Joy videotaping the scenic (“believe me, Joy, this is a beautiful drive!”) voyage to the hot air balloon field. After a number of unexpected weather condition set backs, we made it to the large grassy field where Crystal’s small crew of four were waiting for us. There they had a beautifully decorated bouquet of flowers with a small ring box tucked below a handful of rose petals – I’m sure you can imagine the significance of this. Tradition held that while flying around in the air, you’re supposed to toss the petals overboard and make a wish. Nervously, I held the basket as Joy slowly reached for the flower petals and awkwardly dropped them into the wind.

And then she saw the box . . . . and then she looked confused . . . and then she didn’t know what to do.

In a perfect world, the woman picks up the box (reaching over her myself to pick up the box would’ve been a little clumsy) while the man gets on one knee. Of course, in our world the woman didn’t see it coming (right?) so the man pulled her close among the rocking basket and told her how important and beautiful she is to him. He looked her in the eyes and rehearsed lines that had been stirring all week: He couldn’t imagine his life without her, her presence and help had been instrumental to the man, she’d been there with him through so many struggles and celebrated with him in so many special occasions. Of course, by now he’s on one knee and asking the sentence everyone’s been waiting to hear. “Joy Elizabeth Brown, will you marry me?”

And, like all the stories go, she tackles him right there in the basket as the hot air balloon begins to descend. Did I mention she tackled me when she saw the balloon? Trust me, we caught it all on tape.

The Relief:

Back on the grassy field, Captain Crystal’s entourage had champagne, customized flutes, the cheesiest engagement certificate you’ll ever see, and plenty of ballooning stories for me and my *gasp* new fiancé!