I knew very early in our relationship that I wanted to marry Grace. At first, I had no idea how or when that would happen—but I knew it was what I wanted, and quickly I learned that she wanted it too! Around January of 2025, we decided that spring of 2026 would be the perfect time to get married. We’d both (hopefully) be graduated, and we could start fresh together. Once that decision was made, my countdown to proposing officially began. I gave myself a deadline by telling Grace I would propose before Thanksgiving, which helped calm her very reasonable questions about where her ring was. That summer, while we were both working engineering internships, I saved money and secretly worked on the ring. With some input from Grace and a lot of help from a relative who just happened to be a jeweler, the ring was designed, made, and on my doorstep far sooner than expected. Now I just had to figure out how to propose. Grace told me she wanted it to be just the two of us, somewhere natural and pretty, and—most importantly—a surprise. Since she is a world-class planner and I am… not, I solved this problem by letting her unknowingly plan most of it herself. I dropped hints about an October proposal while quietly moving the real date up to August, all while coordinating with her parents, my grandmother, and a photographer behind the scenes. On August 24th, Grace (entirely by coincidence) chose the date herself. She thought we were just heading to my grandma’s ranch in Tyler before dinner. When we arrived, I suggested we walk through the garden I’d been working on. Waiting there were flowers, a music box that played one of her favorite songs, and a very nervous me. Eventually, we sat on a bench, and I asked her what color the flowers were. When she realized they were blue and white—the same colors as the dress she had told me she wanted to wear when she got engaged—it finally clicked. I asked where that dress might be, (it was in the house) I got down on one knee, and asked her to marry me. Fortunately for me and everyone involved, she said yes! Afterward, she changed into the dress, our photographer arrived, and we spent the evening taking photos, eating Whataburger ( we spent too long taking pictures and missed my much fancier reservation), and watching a vlog I’d secretly made documenting the whole process. She was completely surprised, excited, and still extremely baffled that I managed to pull it off. Don’t doubt me too much Grace! We can’t wait to get married!!!