we're getting married!

This day started unlike any other. Chris woke up nervous yet excited—nervous, hoping that everything he had spent months planning would go smoothly, but excited to begin the next chapter of his life with Leeana. The new chapter of our lives together. The morning started with paddleboarding, enjoying the rhythmic clash of waves against the dock—while also bracing for the Guatemalan boat captains, who seemed to take joy in speeding up just to knock us off our boards. (They succeeded. Chris fell into the water twice.) After paddleboarding, we took to the skies, paragliding over the breathtaking Lago de Atitlán, soaring above three volcanoes, thousands of people, and dozens of boats. After voluntarily putting ourselves through what felt like an episode of 1000 Ways to Die, we headed back to our Airbnb. As we returned, Chris’s nerves hit an all-time high. He had practiced his proposal speech over and over, but now, with the moment fast approaching, he started to feel the pressure. To make matters worse, just as he thought everything was falling into place, his phone buzzed with bad news. Disaster struck. The photographer—who was supposed to be there before we arrived—called to say his boat captain had canceled, and he was struggling to find another ride. Lago de Atitlán is stunning, but its vast size makes boats the fastest way to get around. Without one, the photographer wouldn’t make it in time. Chris, reading this message while in the shower, did the only reasonable thing he could think of… He took the longest shower of his life, then spent another 30 minutes “getting ready” for the dinner reservation we were already late for. After stalling as best he could, we finally boarded our boat—a decked-out, romantic speedboat. Chris discreetly told the captain (who was in on the plan) to stretch what should have been a 15-minute ride into 35, buying more time for the photographer to arrive. As Chris gazed out at the lake, mentally rehearsing his words, he turned to Leeana, ready for the moment… only to find his soon-to-be fiancée sitting with her arms crossed, sunglasses on, looking absolutely not in the mood. She was irritated, and understandably so—Chris had told her they had dinner reservations at 4 PM, yet here they were, 30 minutes late and still en route… LOL. Finally, we arrived at the lakeside villa Chris had rented for them. As we were approaching the villa, the boat captain spotted the photographer sneaking onto the dock. Quickly, he distracted Leeana while the photographer got into position. When the coast was clear… we stepped off the boat, walked to the lakeside deck, and at last, the moment we had both been waiting for happened. Chris got on one knee… and proposed.