We were celebrating our 1 year anniversary of our official dating period. It was originally scheduled to be my work day, but I felt that it was going to be a special day so I made a few calls. Justin had planned out a whole day for us in the trendy part of Brooklyn. We started out with a couples' massage, which was surprising because it's something that I had never even purchased for myself. I felt like a queen. After brunch at Tom's Diner, we both got our mani pedis from Honey Nail Salon. Joking, Justin just did a mani, which was so unlike him. Then we spent some time at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, I knew something was up so I kept on taking pictures of all the flowers there, because I figured I'd be needing the research soon ;) After some secret phone calls Justin "had to take", we ended up at a trendy trattoria with a line up of familiar faces waiting for us there. Lo and behold, after a few distraction conversations, there he was on one knee asking me to be a constant in his life. It was a much more vulnerable moment than I had imagined, and it was perfect.

For months, I planned to make sure that I had the perfect ring for the perfect date at the perfect place with the perfect proposal for the perfect woman. However, there were some bumps in the road. When we got to the end of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, we had to waste time while I frantically texted others who were helping set up. By the time we were about 5 minutes away from the restaurant, I had to take breaks due to my nerves, though I had to wave it off as fatigue. When we arrived, even the waiter couldn't help me out. "Oh, you're the couple they're waiting for!" he said. "They're in the back!" It was all worth it. Our friends had beautifully set up the back of the trattoria. The wall was garnished with lights with the perfect amount of sunlight still out, the tables were split down the middle, and rose petals were set up down the aisle in the shape of a heart. At that moment, I bent down, fumbled through a prepared speech while fighting through my nerves, and asked the question: "Will you marry me?" And as you can see, she said, "Yes."