How We Met
Brent and I met in 2013 when I started working at the same company he worked for. We sat next to each other and for a few months didn’t talk at all. The first thing he talked to me about was soccer, because I am Spanish and he knew I was a big fan. Over the next year we became really good friends. Our friendship slowly blossomed into a relationship and shortly after I knew I was going to marry him. I remember telling all my friends how embarrassed I was because after a wine night I had told him I was going to marry him one day and had no idea if he felt the same way.
Thankfully he did too and eventually we had a more serious conversation about rings, proposals and a wedding. Brent always told me he would never propose on vacation because I would be expecting it, so of course any time we planned a trip the thought of him proposing never came to mind. He also mentioned a time or two that “2017 would be a big year for me” so I was convinced he would propose next year.
how they asked
Throughout our relationship we have always tried to plan a big trip each year, last year’s trip through Europe was so incredible, I wasn’t sure how we would be able to top it this year. Since Machu Picchu has always been on my bucket list and I am a native Colombian, we decided that a trip to South America would be a completely different adventure than our trip to Europe. We began organizing our trip and Brent, as usual, took initiative figuring out how long we’d spend at each city, booking hotels, flights and planning our route to get to Machu Picchu (which isn’t an easy one). A couple of weeks before we left on our trip he suggested that we have our friends video our time in Peru since I had always wanted to visit Machu Picchu. I didn’t think anything of it, so we took as many videos as possible and now I know it’s because he wanted to make a video of the proposal.
The day of our hike we woke up at 4:00 AM and got to Machu Picchu around 5:30 AM. We explored the ruins and took pictures before starting our hike at 8:00 AM. This was not an easy hike, it took us almost two hours to get to the top and the altitude made it even more difficult. A couple of our best friends were hiking a little slower and Brent kept backtracking to make sure they were still making it up, he wanted to make sure they would be there for when he proposed. Once everyone had made it up Brent kept searching for the “perfect” spot to take pictures. Again, I didn’t think anything of it because I love taking pictures, so I just thought he wanted me to have an awesome picture together. Once he found the best spot on the mountain with a breathtaking view he called me over for a picture.
Our best friends were taking pictures and secretly taking videos the whole time! As we were taking pictures I could feel Brent’s legs shaking, he’s not one to get nervous about anything so I just thought he was exhausted from the hike. Then he asked me to face away from the camera so we could take a pic from a different angle and began telling me how much he loved me and how important I was to him, I was mesmerized by the view so I wasn’t looking directly at him but when I turned my attention to him he was taking the ring box out of his pocket and got down on one knee.
I was so shocked I couldn’t stop shaking either! He then asked me to marry him while all of our friends were crying and cheering in the back. After I was able to catch my breath (from the altitude and the shock) I took a look at the ring. It’s the most amazing ring I’ve ever seen and the best part is that he designed it himself!
The hike down was a breeze; I had the biggest smile the entire time. We ran into a Peruvian lady on our way down who told us about an old Inca tale that stated that anyone who gets engaged on the top of Wayna Picchu Mountain will always be blessed by the Inca gods as long as they remain together!