The Brides Proposal Story
Every year the “Cash” side of my family meet up in Destin, FL for some fun in the sun! Since that side of my family is quite large we all stay together in a house right on the beach. It is so wonderful to catch up with everyone and get to be together for that week. My family is scattered across the country and we had people from California, Texas, Alaska, Indiana, Georgia and of course Alabama. Family is extremely important to me and it is such a blessing to be able to come together and celebrate. Little did I know how much my life would change this year when we all headed down to Florida, Everyone in my family knew about the proposal but me! We had invited Gary to come but he declined stating that work would not allow him to be able to join us. On Monday of our vacation, my Aunt Barbra and cousin Allison said that they wanted to have a Mother/Daughter shopping trip with my mother and I before dinner. So we left the beach early and got dressed for dinner so that we could shop as long as we needed to and just meet everyone at the restaurant. We have a fun time and before I know it, my father is calling my mother saying that were going to be late for dinner and that we needed to get on the road. We left but we had to stop by our house before we went to meet everyone at dinner. When we walk in the house my Aunt Ann comes up and grabs my hand and says to all of us “Hurry up there are a bunch of white horses on the beach! You have to see this!” I thought it was for a wedding or something because we had seen several weddings from our house about sunset everyday. So we walk out on the back balcony and I see a candlelit pathway with an illuminated table at the end. I look around for the horses and I don’t see any...thinking that we must have missed them and that we were all just watching someone else’s romantic night I stay on the balcony with all of my family. Suddenly my Aunt Ann yells from behind me…“GO!” I thought I was in her way so I move over and then she yells at me “KEEP GOING!” So I walk out onto the deck but by this time it had started raining so I yell back “But it’s raining!” Everyone laughs at me and then Ann says, “I don’t care.... keep going!” So I was still a little confused and I walked out further and then I notice that someone is standing there with the roses and table and I was afraid that I was going to mess up someone else’s day…when I look back toward the house…I notice that everyone is looking at me…and then it hits me…I was thinking...Oh this is all for me…then I thought OH THIS IS ALL FOR ME!! I walk down the stairs to the candlelit pathway that Gary had setup and in the center of the pathway he had sprinkled rose petals down the beach to the table. I finally reach Gary and we hug and then Gary says to me “Let’s sit down.” So when I take my seat I look at the table and I notice that he has a dozen roses, candles, pictures of us in frames, glasses etched with a design and the initial “P”, linen napkins with the initial “P” and the date monogrammed on them, and a lovely dinner prepared…our pasta and salad was soup by this time because of the rain but we had a good laugh. Gary then gets up and walks over to me and then gets down on one knee in the sand and pulls out a bottle from the sand with my name and date on it and a message inside. The message was a poem that Gary had written to me about our relationship and I started to cry but at that time we look up and my Uncle Steve and our family friend Donna were running down the beach, Steve was carrying a huge beach umbrella and Donna was carrying the camera to capture the moments that were about to occur. Steve then sets up the umbrella and Donna is taking lots of pictures as I finish reading the poem and then I look up at Gary and he says “Cassie will you marry me?” I said “Yes” of course. My Uncle Steve is hilarious and so he yells back to everyone on the balcony “SHE SAID MAYBE!!!” Then we hear cheers from everyone and we go back inside to find a slideshow prepared by Donna of Gary and I and a cake with our picture on it! My father had also been running around while we were shopping and had gone to all of my favorite restaurants and gotten food for our celebration that night! I am so blessed to have such a caring and loving family and to be able to celebrate with everyone that I love under one roof the night of my engagement was priceless! God has blessed me beyond measure and he deserves all the praise for orchestrating my relationship with Gary.
The Groom's Proposal Story
So one spring day in May, I just knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Cassie. So I went to Chattanooga, TN and went to a jeweler and picked out a very special ring that I just knew Cassie would like. I went ahead and purchased it and held onto it for a special day. On September 7, 2009 I somehow got up the nerve to ask her father. I met Dr. and Mrs. Hooks up in Birmingham over lunch. My knees were shaking so bad that I just knew they were going to knock over the water on top of the table. I had planned to ask them early during the lunch but I was a little too nervous. So after we had eaten the main course, dessert, and then had coffee, I got up the nerve. AND HE SAID ABSOLUTELY!!! I was so excited and nervous at the same time. I knew that I wanted to make it special for her. One thing that I have learned through the 3 years that we had dated was that family was very special to her. Also, I knew that the Cash side of her family always took a beach trip in the Fall and I just knew that it that would be very special for her if all her family could enjoy the moment with her. So after I brainstormed for a few months, I came up with a plan. I was going to set up a romantic dinner on the beach. Her mother and I discussed everything and decided that she would distract her that afternoon while I got it all set up. After I got it all set up I looked up in the sky and there was this huge black cloud coming our way, I waited and in the meantime, I felt a sprinkle and then it started raining! I was soaking wet and Cassie had not even got there yet! I made the executive decision that I would just stay out there and enjoy the moment, Cassie showed up and she came down the candlelit pathway with the rose petals and I met her halfway. Then we walked over to the table that I had set up and we were about to enjoy dinner until we realized that the dinner was now soup! So she read the poem that I had written to her and then I propped down on one knee and asked her if she would marry me. SHE SAID YES!!! and I have been so happy and full of joy ever since.