Aramelle & James - Engaged 5/6/05

[Aramelle]

I figured I might as well go ahead and post this here. Can't get enough of sharing our story!

On Friday, May 6th, 2005, I came home from work, and James greeted me outside with our jackets. When I asked him what was going on, all he would say was "we have to go." He rushed me into his car, and started driving, still not answering any of my questions. We ended up at the Olive Garden, my favorite restaurant. So, by this time, I've decided in my mind that "nothing special" was going on...he was just being a sweetie and taking me out for dinner...right? (I should maybe tell you that I'm a lucky lady who's found herself a man for whom this isn't an unusual thing. He often times does little things like that just to keep things fun and exciting for us.) Except I still couldn't figure out why we would have needed our jackets for that.

After we left the restaurant, James got on the freeway...again, not telling me where we were going. We wound up downtown, and that had me really confused, because neither of us are big fans of the crowded casino scene. He parked in an empty lot a little ways away from the main streets, and we started walking towards downtown. We ended up stopping along side the Truckee River, which runs through downtown Reno. The City of Reno has done a beautiful job of creating a little park-like setting all along this section of the river, and it's a place that I really enjoy. James led me to the exact part of the walk-way where we had gone on one of our first "dates" while I was visiting him in May 2004 (which was when we met in person for the first time).

We spent some time just standing and watching the river and doing a little people-watching ~ at least, I THOUGHT it was just people-watching, I later found out that James was just waiting for some people to clear out so we could have the place to ourselves before he proposed. After a while, he suggested we sit down for a bit. We were just snuggling (I soon realized what he brought the jackets for...it still gets quite chilly here at night this time of year) and talking a little....and then he started acting kind of weird!

This next little bit is a little blurry, but I'll do my best to recall it as it happened. LOL At first, he was just telling me that he loves me very much, that he could hardly believe it had been almost a year since we made our first trip to this spot, and then he told me that he has been so happy since I moved here. At this point, I chimed in with saying that I'm very happy too, and I couldn't remember a time when I've ever been happier in my life. (Mind you, these types of conversations aren't that unusual between us, and so I'm still completely clueless that anything is going on.) My statement led James to ask me if there was anything that would make me happier than I was already, and I responded with "nope, I don't think so." At this point, he stood up, pulling me up with him. And as he slid his hand his pocket, he said something along the lines of "I think I know of something that will make you happier." THIS is when the realization hit me. He got down on one knee, slid the ring on my finger, and asked me to marry him. I, of course, started crying, pulled him to his feet, and gave him a big hug and a kiss. After a couple minutes, he pulled back a little and said "you did say yes, right?" And I had to respond, "actually, I don't think I did...but YES!"

After a while, we decided to walk along the river a little longer before we headed home. That's when James told me the second part of my surprise (as if an engagement wasn't enough, right?). James' work schedule is Wed-Sun, having Thurs and Fri off...while I work the basic Mon-Fri. It kind of bums me out that we never get to have any days off together. Well, that week James had to work on Thurs ~it isn't unusual for him to have to put in overtime, so I didn't think anything of it~ but it turns out that he actually had traded shifts with someone so he could have Saturday off!

I was SO excited to be able to just sleep in and snuggle together! We had a wonderful day together. James hadn't brought a camera with for the proposal because he was worried that would tip me off too much that something was going on. But it was very important to both of us to have pictures documenting this special time in our lives. So, we headed back down to the river the evening after he proposed and took some photos. I even got him to do a "re-enactment" photo with me...minus the look of surprise on my face, that is.

If anyone is interested in seeing the pictures, you can find them HERE.

[FallBride2Be]

I remember your story on UW, it is very sweet and romantic...congrats and happy planning

[jersey82]

love your story. it sounds great. very romantic

[FallBride2Be]

I love what James did to the welcome page of your website, very cool.

[Aramelle]

Originally Posted by FallBride2Be

I love what James did to the welcome page of your website, very cool.

Not sure what you mean by did, but thanks. LOL FH and I have enjoyed building the web site together. I've made all of the graphics/buttons/etc and he's the techie who actually got it all online. It's been a fun thing for us to share.

[FallBride2Be]

I meant the background and the way he or you did to the main picture....I like it.

[Chi06Wed]

such a romantic story, wish FH did things like that.

[Bianca]

Aww! I love your story too! Isn't cute how they get all nervous right before?