I was returning from a seven month deployment and low and behold due to COVID-19 I was required to quarantine. I was 10 minutes away from Emma and unable to see her for an additional two weeks. Being so close and unable to see each other was less than desirable. Anyways, I had to do a lot of coordination via phone, email, social media, etc. in order to ensure the proposal was executed flawlessly. In the Marine Corps, we believe Murphys Law will always come to fruition when you least expect it. In this case, Murphys Law was disguised as Emma Bell. I made every attempt to come up with an excuse as to why I wanted to go out and about and not just hang out with her first. Emma, being the sweet woman that she is, just wanted to spend time with me. She didn’t want to say anything but I could tell it was bothering. Emma’s sweetness was the bane of my existence that day. Everything I had planned had to be adjusted at almost every turn. Thanks to the help of Lauren Reyes, aka “Lolo” I was able to get the ring and pass instructions along to the rest of the gang so that there was no phone trace of the plans. I remember talking with another buddy of mine about his proposal and what he had said to his now wife. I was informed that he really didn’t remember because in the heat of the moment he swears he blacked out. After this conversation, all the nerves and pressure began to sink in and I started thinking what if I lose the ring? What if the right time doesn’t come around? Obviously, I wasn’t worried about her saying no 😉 (Proposal story continues on part 2)

I had chosen to propose at the exact spot where we shared our first date. I had the photographer and a group of friends in place ready to take videos, photos, and celebrate. As we approached the area and I began laying down everything for our romantic picnic on the beach she mentioned that she wanted to go to a “better” spot. Now keep in mind there weren’t very many spots for my group to remain hidden or keep from being spotted. I’ll never forget texting the group and telling them to move spots and watching Chelsea, aka “C Dawg” trip and crawl to remain undetected. It was absolutely hysterical, and that’s when I knew the proposal would be a success. I had a group of friends that would do anything to help make this happen. Long story short, Emma eventually chose a spot with an extremely large hole and when I took a knee to propose I lost my balance and THANKFULLY held onto the ring. I can’t tell you the words I chose. Not because it is a secret, not because it is sentimental, but because I too “blacked out” as my buddy had described it. All I know is it was super sweet and romantic and she cried tears of joy… Oh and she said yes! So, I have a sneaking suspicion that whatever I said worked.