welcome to our forever

We met on a beautiful sunny day in San Francisco at the picturesque Ferry Building. The plan was to grab a drink, enjoy a conversation and go about the rest of our days solo. But, when we both ordered the gold glittered old fashioned and decided to share a three course meal, I knew this date was going to be different. It continued with ice cream that I assumed we would share (lesson learned) and some accidental hand holding with a stroll through downtown. We shared our love for our family, friends, travel, food and some sports. Things just seemed to click. It was the perfect first date and the perfect time (seriously though...three weeks before the world turned upside down) to start our story. <3

I wanted to make the proposal memorable - that was my goal! I thought of many locations both near and far. In the end, I wanted some place near water with views, but also a place that wouldn't completely give it away. The challenge - how do I pull off this proposal without anyone knowing, but still have our family and friends nearby to share the moment with us. Then it came to me... I will tell Shannon that I'm taking her out for a birthday dinner (6 days before her bday), while at the same time telling our family and friends that I'm doing a surprise birthday dinner for her. So, I basically told a little lie to everyone...but it was well worth it. I had the ring, the location picked out, hired photographers, hired a saxophonist and set up dinner reservations for a post location celebration. Now came the second challenge - how will I get Shannon to walk down a pier? I was so nervous while we drove to a restaurant that was next to Pier 7. I kept thinking what if we recognize people on our drive there? Luckily, we didn't see anyone, but now came the tricky part, getting her to walk down the pier. All of a sudden it came to me, I walked up to the restaurant (that I had no intention of eating at) and said "do you have reservations for dinner". It really didn't matter what her response was because I went back to Shannon and said "it will be a 20 minute wait". Oddly, they must have had 4 to 5 open tables within our view, but Shannon didn't question it. I then turned to her and suggested we go for a walk down the pier to kill some time. In the distance I saw the Saxophonist who was playing all of Shannon's favorite songs in a specific order just to make the mood even more memorable. In the hopes that she wouldn't suspect anything, I said "that kind of looks like the same Saxophonist we saw a couple of months ago at a street festival". Then I quickly said "Wait, isn't that Ashley", Shannon replying "I think it is". I was saved again! The cue for me came quickly... Ashley started playing "All of Me" by John Legend and I knew this was my sign to go stand behind her and hope I don't forget what I had written down just days before. I snuck behind her and called her name as I was down on one knee ready for it to all happen. The photographers captured the moment perfectly... but the surprise wasn't over. A few minutes later, the family and friends arrived at the pier only to learn we had gotten engaged and it wasn't just a Birthday surprise but an Engagement Celebration. It really went as well as I could have ever imagined....She said YES!!