How We Met
Paris is the city of love and we found love in Paris! Back in 2012, a group of Romanian’s traveled on tour to Europe for a musical performance and missions trip. I sang in the choir and Ron played in the orchestra. We traveled to multiple cities: Madrid, Vienna, Barcelona, Salzburg, and Paris.
Our very first stop was Paris, where we first met! During the trip, we had small talk from time to time, made awkward eye contact, and purposefully bumped into each other just to grab one another’s attention. I had my eyes on Ron the entire trip, but of course he played the “big tough guy” role.
As the trip came to an end, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I flew to Arizona while Ron flew back home to Chicago. Thinking this was only a summer fling, I got back to my normal routine at home with school, work and life. My older sister, Laura, found love on the same trip with Calin, her now husband.
It so happens to be that Ron and Calin are from the same city! My sister would fly out to Chicago to visit her boyfriend, and of course, I would tag along. From time to time, I would run into Ron at church and around town. Overtime, Ron and I became good friends. To my surprise, our relationship was more than just a summer fling. On May 18th, Ron popped a special question and asked if I would have the honor to become his girlfriend! From that day on – our love story began.
how they asked
As of October 9th, our lives changed for the best. Ron’s birthday was on Oct 9th and I had plans to fly out from my hometown Arizona to Chicago (Ron’s hometown). The plan was to fly out a few days before his birthday to not only celebrate his birthday; but also celebrate his new pharmacist job!
Unfortunately, our plans had changed due to a tragic family incident. I was hesitant on even flying to Chicago after everything that happened in my family, but my mom and sister insisted I still go. So, I bought a new ticket to fly out Saturday evening, the night before his birthday.
The next morning we went to church together, enjoyed lunch, went out on a coffee date and drove downtown for Ron’s birthday dinner reservations with his parents. Since we had a few hours to spare before the reservations that evening, Ron listed a few unique rooftops we could go to – one of which was London House.
I absolutely love the London House, so of course I couldn’t say no. As we were walking into the hotel, we were greeted by the friendly hostess and asked if we had reservations and I kindly said no and we were directed to the rooftop (little did I know that everyone at the hotel was expecting us and had a specific role in the proposal).
As we finally arrived on the rooftop, I was drawn back by the breathtaking skyline. Being October in Chicago, it was quite chilly so after a while, I insisted we headed back inside to sit by the fire. As we were heading towards the fire place, Ron asked the hostess if we could take a look at the Cupola. (The Cupola is a gorgeous tower at the top of the hotel overlooking the entire city. Keep in mind, you can only enter the Cupola if you have a special reservation).
To my surprise the hostess said yes but she mentioned there will be a reservation in a hour, so we couldn’t stay too long. So of course I rushed over and started walking up the stairs eagerly awaiting the gorgeous view! Little did I know a romantic surprise was patiently waiting for me! As I reached the top of the stairs, I was surrounded by beautiful music in the background, a table set up with gorgeous red roses, and special pictures of the two of us.
At first, I thought the decorations were part of the reservation that was happening in a hour, but then I realized… THIS WAS ALL FOR ME, ONLY ME! I was awe-struck, trying to capture the moment and the view all at the same time. We climbed on top of the ledge where Ron got down on one knee with a huge smile on his face he expressed his love for me.
With his voice trembling, he explained that love is a choice; a choice to always care, protect and cherish. A choice to love like Christ loved His Church. Ron chose me! And then he asked a special question: “Miriam, will you marry me?” Without hesitation I said: ” YES, YES, & YES WITH MY WHOLE HEART, YES!”
He grabbed my hand with the sweetest touch and whispered…. “the surprise isn’t over yet… your parents flew in town for this special moment!” As I turned around, my parents were standing right in front of my eyes! With tears in my eyes, I ran to my parents and embraced them! No greater feeling then to be surrounded by loved ones on our special occasional.
Finally, I asked Ron what ever happened to our dinner reservations? Turns out, there was a private limo waiting outside to take us to dinner downtown. And that ends – The Perfect Proposal.
