The Proposal

For anyone that has had any interaction with me the last three years knows that I have been involved with, talking about, and learning with a special woman... One Carolyn Brug. Well, in case you didn't know, I love that woman. She makes me smarter, happier, makes me see things in a new light, and listens to me, among roughly four billion things that make me a better person. And after being together for over three years, living together for almost a year, and raising a puppy together for a few months, I decided it was time to make a commitment to her... This blog is about that commitment and the process to make that commitment become a moment and event Care will never forget...

The Ring

The first thing that pops in everyone's mind for a proposal is the ring, for obvious reasons. And this was where I started for my proposal as well. I started by asking around for thoughts and suggestions from those I know have gone through this process before. I got a ton of good advice, and even if I didn't use it, I was listening and appreciate the help. Anyway, originally, I intended on going to all kinds of jewelry stores, but ended up only going to one: Shane Company. Why did I decide on Shane Co? Well, between the no commission salesforce, selection, prices, locations, warranty, and all the recommendations, I felt I really couldn't go wrong.

Carolyn always said she wanted some thing more down-to-earth when it came to her ring... But I got to thinking, she'll wear this for the rest of her life, so it can't be TOO minimal. Care does like tradition and style, so I wanted to get her something established, sporty, classy, simple, yet elegant. The ring pictured was what I decided.

The Blessing

I think one of the most stressful parts of the process is approaching her parents solo to ask for their blessing... and why wouldn't it be, right? Meeting with the people who have always wondered what your intentions were with their child, and doing so without the support you usually have. Given, I'm sure this experience varies from person to person, but I have to think nerves play a part regardless of the preexisting circumstances. Anyway, I asked Mr. and Mrs. Brug to dinner at the Keg Steakhouse because a) it was nice, but not over the top, b) somewhere easy to get to and not too far away and c) Someplace I wanted to try (also, d) I like a good steak). Originally I had thought about taking them to Chad's Grill because that's their favorite restaurant, but decided against it since this is was special occasion, not a common meal.

The meal went better than expected, and I didn't really expect any trouble. It was a delight to sit with Carolyn's parents and discuss my intentions, plans, and appreciation for their daughter. We ended up eating, drinking (mostly water), and being merry for almost three hours. We also talked about lots of happenings, stories, and other people that affect or lives. My mom has always called the Brugs "my other family" and lucklily, they are okay with that, both in name and soon to be actual relation :)

The Proposal

The big event! Finally, months of thought and planning - along with some monetary purchases - come together for one moment to be completely perfect. For weeks, maybe months, I constantly told Carolyn I hadn't really looked at rings yet, or that I wasn't sure how to propose, and at times, I think she fell for it, but the entire time, it made her second guess everything (we all know I'm a planner, including her, so of course I had this under control from the beginning)... She was always afraid we would run out of weekends or time to do this as I told her we would be engaged before my birthday on June 12th.

Initially, the plan was to propose on the morning May 19th. Carolyn has been talking about wanting to take a hot air balloon ride for quite some time, so I took that as a pretty clear clue on what to do. I arranged a "Romantic Flights for Two" through Life Cycle Balloon Adventures for the event. With the help of our friends Layna and Dave Gaffield, we "scheduled" a hike the morning of May 19th in North Boulder so we could have a plan to get her out there. When the 18th came around, I was going to tell her that night to dress and prepare accordingly (we are leaving our place at 5:00). I know she wasn't big on hiking, so I told her we would drive separate so we could leave when we want. After unpacking and getting the balloon airborne, I would propose in the air (I'm assuming that as of that morning when she sees the balloon, she would figure out what was coming). I had a little prepared on what to say, but wanted to "shoot from the hip as well."...

... and what actually happened wasn't that. The weather on the 19th of May turned out to be the exact opposite of what is necessary to fly. The day before was perfect, and the day after was great, so this was either a test or a sign... I went with test. :) I was contemplating a way to actually propose the same weekend, but with our schedules, I didn't see it happening. So, we were postponed until June 3rd. I decided that, no matter what, June 3rd was going to be the day, so I needed to come up with a back up plan... But luckily, the back up plan was unnecessary. Instead of telling Care we were going hiking, I didn't tell her anything the night before. We hung out and I went to bed early (for me) while she went to bed late for her (despite my encouragement to go to bed). I set her phone alarm for 4:00 am to wake her up... and she didn't complain! She had an idea it was coming and was happy to wake up early. We got ready and went to the field at 5:30 and flew Over Boulder and into Lafayette on what seemed to be a perfect day. Shortly before the halfway point of our ride, I handed the camera over to Michael, our pilot, and proposed to Carolyn... mostly shooting from the hip; short and sweet... Thank God she said yes!

So as you can imagine, this is a process. Almost five months from inception to creation. For those of your proposing, makes sure to plan ahead and ask lots of questions. For those of you already proposed to, make sure you remember and appreciate how much effort, energy, money, and time goes into a proposal... Don't get me wrong, it's fun and I enjoyed it, but it's semi nerve racking and, well, scary... But totally worth it! I love you Carolyn, and excited to spend the rest of my life with you!

To see all the pictures, see below

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