How We Met
Schuyler and I attended the same high school in Washington, DC where we met our freshman year. It wasn’t until the start of our senior year at the age of 17 that we began dating. He was the captain of the varsity football team while I was a captain of the varsity women’s lacrosse team. After high school, like with many relationships, we questioned whether or not we should stay together in college as I was set to pursue my ambitions in California at Stanford University and he at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. After much back and forth, we decided to continue dating and do the dreaded long distance relationship, hoping our love and friendship would conquer any 3,000 mile distance between us. The four years spent apart were beyond difficult, certainly not without bumps in the road, but come our senior years, we had found our way back to each other and were completely committed and so happy.
how they asked
Flash forward to this September for our 8 year anniversary and Schuyler decided to take us both on a trip to Santorini, Greece, a destination I’ve only dreamt of visiting for as long as I can remember. The Sunday after we arrived, we spent the whole day exploring the exquisite town of Oia, mesmerized by the whites of its signature adobe buildings and the blues of the Aegean Sea. He told me he planned a nice dinner for us that evening at a winery and when I asked if I should straighten my hair, he shrugged and nonchalantly responded, “Sure, if you’d like.” Totally playing me! As we were walking out the door of our hotel, he mentioned that the restaurant was sending a car to pick us up. I thought, what a fun treat!
As we arrived at the winery, I got out of the car and he said he had a surprise for me. He took out a blindfold (in actuality, his white undershirt) and placed it tightly over my eyes. I was led down several stairs and as he removed the blindfold, there was the most breathtaking scene revealed to me. I was standing in the center of a series of candles in the shape of a heart, overlooking a white cabana and Santorini’s mountains. Instantly, our song titled ‘Center of My World’ by Chris Young, the one that he included in the first mix CD he ever made me, played over the loud speakers. He spoke a few words (we both blacked out and can’t quite remember what was said), but he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him while cheers from winery guests rang out loudly on a nearby balcony. Staring up at me was the most unbelievable ring, which I wasted no time putting on, and then he then asked me to dance, capping possibly the most magical moment of my life. I was so focused on him that I hadn’t yet seen that there was both a photographer and videographer snapping photos and shooting videos (with a drone!). I was handed a beautiful bouquet and we both received the most delicious rosé to cheers with. I also couldn’t believe that there were printed pictures of us through the years hung on this rustic, wooden screen as we laughed together, reminiscing and soaking up everything this moment had to offer. After I regained my breathe, he had coordinated an entire impromptu engagement photo shoot along with a private dinner for us with the Santorini sunset as our backdrop. At the end of the evening, after consuming pounds of seafood linguini and strawberry cake, he turned to me with a smirk and said, “One more surprise!” All of sudden, FIREWORKS begin to shoot off and I exclaim, “is this for real?!” We stood underneath the colorful bursts, returning to center of the lit, heart-shaped candles and I realized, then more than ever, how lucky I was to have him. And, how every man from here on out will forever be furious at him for setting the bar unrealistically high with the romance and grandeur of his proposal.
