Sunday, December 14, 2008

The proposal... (as told by Christi Anne)


On December 6th, 2008 Brandon proposed!  He didn't tell me what we were doing for our date, but I thought maybe this was the night!  A couple weeks earlier he had asked me if I was bugged he hadn't proposed yet.  I told him it was fine with me, as long as we got married.  He said that the ring would take longer than he had planned because it is a busy season.  So anyways, in preparation for our date saturday he told me that I had to dress warm, but that I still had to dress nice.  I was super confused.  When he picked me up, he still refused to tell me what we were going to do.  He drove up to Park City, and as we were walking around looking for Gad 2 (the ski lift) a woman asks us if we are looking for the sleigh ride too... So we went on a sleigh ride up the mountain to a cabin/restaurant called the Snowed Inn.
We had a wonderful dinner, and sat by the fire.  On the ride up Brandon told me that this was in celebration of 6 months since our first date.  Naturally I was a little disappointed... I thought he was going to propose...  On the sleigh ride down I thought that maybe he would... but he didn't.  As we were getting into his car I thanked him for the wonderful evening, to which he responded "on the the next activity."  Of course I began to be excited again, thinking that maybe he would propose wherever it was we were going.  So we headed to Temple Square and looked at the lights there.  
 we walked around I thought, ""maybe it's gonna be here.."  as we were walking past the temple Brandon led me inside the gates so we walked directly in front of the Temple.... He paused, put his arms around me... and then unzipped his coat, pulled his hands up into his sleeves and said " My hands are cold. Do you want to walk down Main St. and go to the car?"  I couldn't believe it!  To me it seemed as if he was going to propose!  
So we walked past the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and he asked if we could go inside so he could blow his nose.... Then we got on the elevator and went to the 10th floor.  We looked out the windows on the West side, overlooking temple square.
Again I thought that he would maybe propose, but he didn't.  As we were leaving, we saw a good friend of my family, and he congratulated us on our engagement.  I quickly responded that we weren't engaged (and thought in my head that Brandon had ample opportunities that night to ask me!) 
So we left, and walked back to his car.  On the drive home I was trying to not feel any disappointment.  I kept thinking about what an amazing date Brandon had planned, how sweet he was... How was he going to be able to propose to me a different night and how would he ever top this date???  On the way home his brother texted him and asked him what we were up to.  Brandon told him we were on our way home, and on the freeway.  His brother kept texting him, and he acted perturbed.  Little did I know that was part of the plan....  As we got off the Draper exit I asked Brandon what we were going to do.  He said that he hadn't planned anything else, paused, and then said that he was tired and asked if I was as well.  I asked him if that meant he was taking me home.  He said that if he did take me home, he would stay for a bit and we could talk or watch a movie....  I was so disappointed, and to be honest I remember thinking "If he proposes to me in his car, or on my doorstep I will kill him!"  
Now for the last part you need a little background...  This was our 6th month "first date"  Anniverserary.  On our first date, at the end of the night, we headed up to the Draper Temple to see how it was looking (it was under construction).  We hopped the fence (at Brandon's suggestions) and walked around.  I was nervous we were going to get caught, so I thought up the perfect excuse.  I told him that if someone caught us I was going to say that he was proposing to me.  WHO SAYS THAT ON A FIRST DATE???  
So back to December 6th-  We were driving south on 1300 E., towards my house, when Brandon asked me what I was thinking.  I told him I was thinking about our first date, how crazy it was that we went to the Draper temple, I even brought up my excuse for being there.  I told him how much fun I had, and how beautiful that temple was the night it was lit up.  He was about to turn down my street, when he asked me if I wanted to go up to the temple.  I was happy the night wasn't about to end, but didn't suspect a thing this time.  After all, this was my idea, wasn't it?  So we went up to the Draper Temple, walked around for a minute, and then Brandon pointed to a bench and asked me to sit down.  As he did, I saw some light reflecting off a guitar in a flower bed right behind the bench.  He pulled it out, and told me he was going to sing me a song he had written for me.  It was an amazing song!!
We both became slightly emotional, and after he finished the song he got down on one knee and asked me if I would marry him!  I have never been happier in my whole life.  He had picked out a beautiful ring for me, and amazingly it fit!  Little did I know that his brother Jason was filming the whole thing.  He then began to take pictures for us, and we were re-enacting the proposal when I saw that Brandon had put the wedding band in the ring box!  So that night there were some major surprises!  Then we went to his parents house in Draper, watched the video, and had an "engagement party".  
The thing I can't believe is how amazing Brandon is!!!  He worked so hard to make that night so special... and it was.  I love him so much, and couldn't be happier to be starting my life with him!

Let's get it started.....


Well, here we go!  Brandon and I met in high school, then we ran into each other again in Israel of all places (he always says we had to go half-way around the world to find each other again)!  We are getting married on March 14th, and could not be happier!  Like Brandon said, "we're taking the plunge, and we're excited for the ride!