How We Met
Phil and I met a little over a year ago through mutual friends. Even though Phil and I had lived less then 10 minutes from each other our whole lives, we had never met before. In January last year, our friends decided to get a group together to head to a winery for something to do on a Saturday night, and Phil and I were part of that group. We ended up hitting it off that night, and the rest is history.
how they asked
I was on a wine tasting trip in California with my family when Phil texted me and told me that he had a surprise trip planned for him and I in a few weeks. I had no idea where we were traveling to, but I was so excited because he had never planned a trip like this for us before. The weekend of our trip, my mother dropped me off at work Friday morning and Phil picked me up after work. When I got into his car, Phil finally had told me that we were heading to Niagara Falls (which I was SO excited about because I had told him a few months earlier that I really wanted to visit that area). When we got to Niagara Falls Friday night, we relaxed, walked down the strip of tourist attractions, and headed to a brewery to try some of the local beers. The next morning was when I realized that this trip was more than just a typical weekend getaway.
When I woke up on Saturday morning, Phil told me he had a day of surprises planned out for me and the first surprise was at 11:00. After getting breakfast at the hotel, we got ready and headed to my first surprise, which was about a half an hour away at Niagara-on-the-Lake. On the way there, I kept asking Phil what we were going to do, and he kept telling me “you’ll know it when you see it.” When he stopped the car, I looked around and saw many small stores and boutiques, so I immediately thought we were going shopping. We got out of the car and walked to the end of the road, and then my heart dropped. There was a horse and carriage ride waiting for us, and I was beyond excited!
We boarded the horse and carriage and rode around the beautiful town while the driver gave us a wonderful tour of the area. At the end of the carriage ride, the driver pulled up to a gazebo by the water and told us, “many people say it is good luck to kiss under the gazebo”, and then asked us if we wanted to give it a try. Of course we did! We got off the horse and carriage, walked down to the gazebo, kissed, and the next thing I knew, Phil was down on one knee asking me to marry him. I was so excited, I think I said “YES” before he could fully get down on one knee! The surprise wasn’t over yet though. The next thing I knew, my parents, Phil’s parents, Phil’s sister, my brother and sister-in law, my aunt and uncle (who flew out from South Dakota), and my best friend and her husband came out from hiding to surprise us! I immediately was brought to tears with excitement.
After the proposal, my last surprise of the day was a wine tasting trip around Niagara-on-the-Lake with all of our friends and family. It was a perfect way to end the day, and we were all so excited to celebrate what the future has in store for us!
