How We Met
We met in college! At the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. It was the beginning of our junior year, and it was the classic college introduction, at a bar! Gregg was celebrating his 21st birthday, and lets just say he was feeling no pain! The liquid courage kicked in and he came up to me at the bar and starting hitting on me hard core! I thought he was cute and funny, so I let him entertain me for a while. We talked for a long time and when he asked for my number, I had to play hard to get and deny him! Lucky for him we saw each other out a lot after that night and we fell for each other instantly! And the rest was history!
how they asked
Gregg asked in the most incredible and fairy-tale like way. We hadn’t seen each other in about a week because I was staying at my parents’ house in the suburbs, and on Friday, September 22nd we had plans to do a date night downtown Chicago, where we’re from. Little did I know that date night was not going to go as planned! Friday morning, at 7:00 AM, my mom and dad came into my room, opened my curtains wide open and woke me up. My mom was teary eyed, my dad had a very serious face, and I was extremely confused. I asked them what they were doing, and my mom said they were given “special instructions,” and they needed me to get up, shower, get ready, and pack a weekend bag. I had no idea what was going on, but I had a feeling Gregg was up to something.
So I did as I was told, all while freaking out because I knew something was up. My mom helped me pack my weekend bag, she told me exactly what I needed, including nice going-out outfits, 2 fancy dresses, heels, and a bathing suit. About an hour later once I was ready, my mom told me we needed to get on the road and head to the city. So my mom, dad and I got in the car and started driving. I immediately was thinking Gregg had a nice weekend planned for us to stay in a hotel downtown, because that is something he has done for me before. So we drove for a while until my mom said she got the next instructions, to get off at a particular exit. So we did, and we continued to drive and ended up at the airport! I was in absolute shock, I was not expecting to be flying anywhere! My parents walked me into the airport and handed me and envelope.
The next instructions were for me to open it, so I did, and it was a boarding pass to Las Vegas. I immediately started crying and freaking out! I couldn’t believe I was going to Vegas, and I still had no idea what Gregg had planned. After a 2-hour flight delay I finally was on my way to Las Vegas. When I landed in Vegas my mom told me the next instructions were to look for a driver holding a sign with my name on it. I found the driver, and she asked me if I was traveling alone today. I was just as clueless as she was, and told her I had no idea! She laughed and took me out to her car, which happened to be a huge stretch limo! She helped me into the limo and served me a glass of champagne, giving me the bottle to enjoy for the rest of the ride!
So I was driving down the Vegas strip, in a huge stretch limo, with a glass of champagne in my hand, and feeling like a movie star! I had no idea where I was going, but I was so excited and couldn’t believe this was all real. She dropped me off at the Cosmopolitan hotel, where I texted my mom again to ask for the next instructions. I was told to go to the front desk and check in under Gregg’s name. So I did, and the lady at the counter immediately asked me if I was already checked in. Just like I did with the limo driver, I told her I was clueless! I explained to her I thought I was being surprised by my boyfriend. She told me she would be right back, and came back to the counter a few minutes later with 2 envelopes in her hand. Both envelopes had Gregg’s handwriting on the front. One said “Open now” and one said “Open at 5:30 PM.” I opened the “now” envelope, and inside was a letter from Gregg welcoming me to Vegas. The letter told me to go up to the room, freshen up, put on a nice dress and heels, and be outside the Bellagio Fountain at 5:25 PM. He obviously knows me very well, so he emphasized “don’t be late!” I went upstairs to the room, which turned out to be a huge, amazing suite! I had about 45 minutes to freshen up, so I did and then headed out to the Bellagio Fountain with my other “Open at 5:30 PM” envelope in hand. I was standing outside the Bellagio Fountain for what felt like forever before I finally saw Gregg walking towards me. The second I saw him I started crying. I was so anxious and overwhelmed from the entire day, I couldn’t hold back my tears! He came up to me, we said hi and gave hugs and kisses, and he told me to open the next envelope. I did, and inside were tickets for that night to see Celine Dion, who is one of our favorite singers! I freaked out and cried more.
He then said, “there’s something else,” got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him! I was sobbing even harder and gave the most confident “yes” I ever had! There was a huge crowd that had formed around us, and everyone was clapping and taking pictures. Minutes later I also found out Gregg had hired a photographer who was there taking our pictures as well! The photographer came up to us after and told us we had about an hour to go around the strip and take pictures. We were able to get so many great pictures at all the cool spots on the strip, and afterwards we headed to see our girl Celine Dion! It was the most surreal, incredible, memorable day of my life and it is something I will never forget. I was more shocked than I had ever been, and I couldn’t believe all the planning Gregg did to make it the most amazing proposal ever! We got to spend the rest of the weekend in Las Vegas to celebrate our engagement! It was the best weekend of my life, and as everyone who knows us has said, “the most epic proposal ever!”
