It all started on a trip of a lifetime to Ireland. We arrived at the Blarney castle on a cold and gray day. We picked up our tickets at Will Call, then began the trek up to the castle. About a month earlier, I had contacted Blarney Castle customer service to see if there was a way to line someone up to photograph the special moment. Luck was on my side and Paul O'Sullivan jumped in. We made it to the castle, and climbed up all of the steep and winding staircases to the top where the Blarney Stone was located. Legend has it that if you kiss the stone you will be gifted with eloquence throughout the rest of your life, but another legend says that people constantly sneak into the castle at night and pee on the stone so our plan was to get close to the stone but not actually kiss it. Ashley went first, and did just as planned. Then I went, but in my excitement I accidentally actually kissed the stone! We made our way back down to explore the grounds. Ashley had Googled pictures of the grounds and wanted to visit the waterfall in the fern gardens. Little did she know, Paul O'Sullivan and I had agreed that the waterfall would be the backdrop for the proposal. Upon arriving at the waterfall, we stood and took in the beauty for a few minutes (and to allow Paul to catch up to us). Around the time I saw Paul walking down the stairs behind us, Ashley began taking a panoramic picture and she was faced away from me. When she turned around, I dropped to one knee and asked her if she wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. To my relief, she said yes!