It was a beautiful sunny morning, when we headed out to the Arboretum. I (stephanie) had no idea of the special surprise that was coming my way. All I knew was that Gerry intended for us to take pictures together, which wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary. The arboretum is one of my favorite places because of all the beautiful nature so I was very excited to go together. I was insistent on going to see some tropical plants while Gerry was adamant on heading in the opposite direction. With a promise of going back to see the tropical plants, we headed in the direction of the rose garden. As we approached the rose garden, I started to get a faint sense of suspicion that this could be the moment he could propose but I brushed it off. Since roses bloom in winter, the garden was absolutely stunning. There were roses of every color surrounding a patch of bright green grass. On either side of the garden there were white latticework trellises where roses were intertwined in them. I came across a beautifully scented rose and showed it to Gerry. Unfortunately there was a bee in it and we both got startled! After that, Gerry led me to the side of the garden with the latticework trellis white pretty pink roses. He strategically planned for me to stand in a certain spot while he went and positioned the camera to be just right. I was under the impression we were just taking couple’s pictures so I had a pose in mind that I wanted to try. He came behind me and hugged me as we posed for the camera. It was then that my heart started to race and I began to tremble because in that moment, my suspicion about him proposing grew. We finished the picture and he went to check the camera. Then he came back and started fixing his tie as he came to stand next to me. He got down and started dusting my shoes. I thought he was dusting them because I had jumped in a pile of leaves earlier. So then I get down and start dusting my shoes too lol. I finally get up and that’s when I realize that Gerry is in a kneeling position. He grabs my hand and asks me to marry him in the most precious way I could’ve ever imagined. I was so so excited and overcome with pure joy. I still get teary eyed just thinking about it. The detail and the amount of planning it took to execute this gorgeous day was all because of how amazing and thoughtful Gerry is. I truly cannot wait to marry this man and spend the rest of my life loving him with everything that I am. I love you more than words could express my darling.