a forever love

It was New Year's Eve in Miami, Florida when Andrew and I were counting down to the start of 2024. We had the most lovely time visiting his family in South Florida for the past few days, and we had an afternoon flight the next day to Turks & Caicos Islands for our couples vacation. Champagne was flowing, gratitude was exchanged for all the blessings of 2023, and best wishes were expressed for the new year. After the frenzy and before bed I decided to check-in to our flights early. I typed in all of our info, including my passport number from memory, and it was only when I asked Andrew for his passport that I had the most painful realization: I left my passport at home in California! After getting past the sheer panic and Googling ways to sneak myself onto the island without ID, my fate eventually became clear. I had to fly all the way home to San Francisco to pick up my passport, and then fly to Turks & Caicos. And that I did... what a way to ring in the new year! Andrew took our original flight to the island and arrived at the resort without issue. Luckily, I was able to book flights placing my arrival time only one-day later. After my *small detour* I arrived and the trip was back on schedule. We enjoyed jet skiing, kayaking with sea turtles, and explored almost every beach and restaurant on the tiny island. As soon as I arrived, Andrew told me he had booked a photo shoot on Saturday. ‘That's interesting’ I thought. ‘Maybe he just wants high quality vacation pictures?’ Or, if my intuition was correct… maybe he was going to propose. The morning of Saturday arrived and we had a lovely couples massage, but Andrew left early. ‘I have to make a phone call’ he said. I thought it might be a work call since he regularly works on Saturdays. Then I went back to our hotel and put on my favorite beachy white dress that I knew would look beautiful next to the blue water, and Andrew wore a matching outfit. I packed my beach bag with an alternate dress, lip gloss, and some water, and we headed out for the shoot. As we walked out I kept looking at his pockets to see if I could decipher a ring box. I couldn’t see a thing! And when we arrived to the shoot we started taking pictures right away. I knew it was an hour long shoot, and around the 25 minute mark there was still no sign of a ring. ‘Maybe this is is just a photo shoot’ I thought to myself. Nonetheless, I continued smiling and soaking in the romantic setting with my super handsome boyfriend (for the next few minutes). Around the halfway mark the photographer told us to take a break, and Andrew walked over to my bag for some water. He came back and we started posing again, this time I was standing slightly in front of him while we both looked forward. The photographer suggested I look back to gaze in Andrew’s eyes, and when I did … he was down on one knee. I said the most resounding ‘Yes!’ and tried to blot away my teary eyes to preserve my makeup. I asked him where the ring was, and he revealed his master plan. The ring box was in my own beach bag the entire time! Somehow he had intercepted my bag and planted the ring before we left. I was unknowingly carrying my own engagement ring to the proposal! He also told me that the urgent phone call he needed to make during our couples massage was a call to my parents to ask for their blessing, which they happily provided. He pulled off the entire proposal flawlessly. I posted on Instagram the next day that the proposal to marry Andrew was the “easiest ‘yes’ ever”, and it truly was. I could not have dreamt up a better proposal, or for that matter, a better man. It will be the privilege of my life to marry Andrew and become Mrs. Florial this April. Forever won’t be long enough, but it’s a good place to start.