How We Met
We met like any other modern-day couple meets: on Bumble! I had heard a little bit about him before we matched because a friend of mine had gone on a couple of dates with him but she didn’t see it working out. She raved about him and I jokingly said, “Hey, set me up!” That very day, I saw he was back on the market so to speak and immediately swiped right. He swiped right pretty quickly after that and the rest is history.
How They Asked
Her point of view: We were in Seattle visiting my family for Memorial Day Weekend and I knew that Jonathan was planning on asking my dad for his blessing to marry me while we were there. We had talked about getting married for a while, but I had no clue he was going to propose that weekend!
On Sunday morning, Jonathan mentioned that he wanted to go to a specific park that afternoon and then go out to dinner with my sister and her boyfriend later. We had made a list of things we wanted to do that weekend and that park wasn’t on it, so I thought it was interesting he was so insistent on going. So I asked him, “Are you going to propose?!” He brushed it off and said that his mom had recommended the park and that’s why he wanted to go. Satisfied with that answer, I texted my sister to see if she wanted to go to dinner. She told me that unfortunately, she couldn’t come (little did I know that her and my dad were in on the proposal!). Our day went on as usual. We went to church and then hung out with my dad and sister that afternoon. I again brought up that Jonathan was so insistent on going to the park and how that probably meant he was going to propose. My dad and sister both talked me down telling me to just go with it and not expect him to propose because he wasn’t going to.
Later that afternoon, Jonathan and I left for Gas Works Park. I noticed that he was getting really quiet which usually means he is nervous about something but I didn’t want to be disappointed if he didn’t propose, so I convinced myself he wasn’t going to. When we got to the park, he led me to a specific part of the park. Upon the hill, I thought I saw someone who looked like my really good friend who happens to be a photographer. I asked, “Is that Emily?” To which he responded, “I don’t know, why don’t we go and see?” When we got to the top of the hill, I realized it was my friend! However, I still did not realize he was proposing.
I thought maybe he had arranged for her to take couples photos of us. After catching up with my friend, Jonathan turns to me and says, “Why don’t you sit down on this bench.” I realized that I was sitting on a beautiful, handmade, red bench. Early on in our relationship, I told Jonathan that my family and I had gone to a small Washington town, where there was this beautiful red bench and that I had always dreamt of getting engaged at. But because we couldn’t go all the way there, he made the bench for me and had it delivered to the park! He also wrote all of the significant dates of our relationship on the sides and will put the day we get married on the east side.
Jonathan started proposing with the sweetest words, most of which I do not remember (but he luckily wrote it down for me to read later!). After I said yes, I heard my name being yelled from the shore. I turned around and saw my sister and her friends in their boat. They had seen the whole thing! We then we back to Kirkland where the restaurant was located and Jonathan had set up an engagement party with my dad, sister, and her boyfriend before dinner on their boat. It was so thoughtful, sweet, and romantic, just like Jonathan has been every single day of our relationship. I cannot wait to marry him!
His point of view: On that magical weekend, all of the planning, preparation, patience, communication, and prayer came together. Seattle, known for its rainy days, decided to clear up perfectly that day, the day after a storm. The red bench, which I had constructed and driven halfway across the state, was ready to be used and make Lizzie’s childhood dream come true. Family and friends were all ready for the events to come. I had rehearsed what I was going to say (which I paraphrased at the moment because I was so nervous and awestruck that this was happening) and orchestrated our schedule for that day without any major suspicion from Lizzie.
I couldn’t, and still can’t believe how wonderful everything turned out that day and weekend. I’m so excited to marry Lizzie, be a bigger part of her family, further add her into my family, and start the rest of our lives together. She is the ultimate blessing in my life and brings me an unfathomable amount of joy.
