The proposal story:

It was the Saturday before Easter 2017 and I set my alarm for earlier than I would have liked on a weekend. I knew it would mean a lot to Steve if I woke up early enough to grab a coffee in New York City and wander around like we lived there. Little did I know how much the day would actually mean to me. We headed into the city to grab brunch at one of our favorite French spots, Claudette, but upon realizing we were the first ones there we took a stroll down 5th avenue and took a pit stop in Artizia. There was a geranium silk bomber jacket in the window that actually caught Steve’s eye. While I piled my wrists with hangers Steve was checking out with the jacket and flashing the ring to the cashier as she tried to slow play the check out. He whisked me out of the store before I could make it to the dressing room and back to Claudette we went. It was a brisk day and Steve kept his hands tightly in his windbreaker.. something I didn’t realize until we replayed the day back. At brunch I ate my eggs benedict, Steve’s pancakes, a shared charcuterie plate, and a basket of pastries.. accompanied by a few mimosas. Steve claimed the espresso he had turned his stomach and he was glued to his phone because he was “dealing with last minute tax questions from his accountant”. Instead of exploring around the rest of the day as planned I fell into a relaxed, very full state as we drove home planning out our sleepy day of movies and Netflix. We sang along to all of our favorite songs and when we got close to home Steve asked me to try on my new jacket (apparently my leather jacket wasn’t ideal for engagement pictures haha). Pulling into our driveway I noticed the shade to the right of our front door was pulled down to the floor, which was unusual since we always left it up for our bengal cat, Theo, to watch out. Steve saw this and in panicking threw my purse and previous jacket onto the front yard, grabbed my hand, and said “I have a surprise for you!” “Is it another kitty?!” I replied in anticipation. We both laughed and as soon as I saw through the front door to all our friends and family I knew.. this was it..the moment I always dreamed of was here. In front of Steve’s family in from Michigan and Maryland, my family, and our closest friends Steve got down on one knee and asked me if I would marry him. I said “yes please” and we spent the rest of the afternoon celebrating at our house. He completely caught me off guard! Later that night we all went to a big Italian dinner and the surprises continued with more friends. It was the best day of our lives, until our wedding day two years later.