The Proposal
The results of more than six months of sneaking and planning, perfectly executed, and she said yes! That's the quick version, but what really went into this proposal? Here I will to tell you all about it, and share with you some of the great fun that went into putting this proposal together.
For any good proposal to come together, you have to follow a few basic steps. First, you have to find someone who is special enough to propose to, then you have to come up with an idea or plan for the proposal, and then you have to execute it.
 | Finding Someone Special |
I think this picture sums it up perfectly. A NASA Shuttle engineer, donning her leapard print Mickey Ears, spinning around a kids ride at Disney World with her hair blowing in the wind so beautifully, that super model agents would have to fight to be the first to speak to her at the rides exit.
 | Dreaming Up The Perfect Proposal |
So I got the perfect girl... now all I needed to do was get a ring, and think up the most romantic proposal ever made. Picking out the right ring was easy, Jess hinted at least twice a day about what she wanted. A simple gold band, with a solitary stone. My biggest decision there was four prongs or six to hold the stone. My first thought about the proposal was to have a custom ring box made, the same size as a regular ring box. Then, since I was going to go through the trouble of having a custom ring box made, I thought of taking it a step further, and making it a box, just large enough to put a full size rose on the inside, and have the ring tied to it with a ribbon, and then have the ring, rose, and ribbon, carved on the outside of the box. As I was researching to find a good artist to help me out with that, I started to think about how I was going to go through all this trouble to make a box, that was going to be used one day, and then just kept for its sentimental value forever, but with no other way to use it. So I thought, why not make it a jewelry box, with removable trays, and then after I use it to propose to her, she can have it for the rest of her life, to keep jewelry in, and to remember the day I gave it to her. So I found an artist who made bible boxes very similar to the idea I had in my head for the jewelry box, and contacted them in early October of 2005 with my original ideas. Over the next four months we comunicated almost daily on design concepts and layouts. The next two months after that were assembly, carving, and and working out the final details on design.
| Proposing with Style |
On a perfect day in the florida keys, we rented scooters, and drove out to smathers beach. There we unloaded our gear, and I told jess I had a surprise for her. I got down on a knee, and pulled the jewelry box out, with the ring tied to the rose with a ribbon, just as it was carved on the top of the box. I asked her to marry me, and she said yes.
It sounds perfect, but up to the last minute, it took constant work and recovery from crisis after crisis to pull it off. The box was finished only a few days before the proposal, and was shipped by the artist directly to the hotel. Shipping could not be even a day late to pull everything together. I had contacted the hotel, and requested that they have the rose ready for me that day, and that they not say anything to me about the box or the rose when I checked in with Jess. The hotel accepted the box delivery on time, secured it out of site, and managed to not slip anything to Jess, but they did forget the rose! I swept the island of Key West for roses, all the flower shops were out! Fortunately, after much seaching, I found one on Duval street. I tied the ring to the rose with the ribbon in the hotel office. It was so beautiful it brought a tear to the hotel managers eye. I then hid it all away in a bag that we had planned on using to carry all our towels and blankets to the beach in, and rushed back before Jess could get too upset about how long I had been gone. When we rented scooters I managed to secure the bag in the basket, but cautiously avoided every bump in the road on the way to the beach. All the months of work, and the maddening last few days were worth it in the end, the day was so beautiful, the beach so perfect, and the proposal itself so incredible, I shall remember it all to the last day of my life!
Jess's Point of View:
HOW IT HAPPENED A beautiful morning on Smather's Beach in Key West. We rented motor scooters, and road to the beach to spend the day. When we got there, Ken said he had a surprise for me, and had me close my eyes. When I opened them, there was a beautiful jewelry box in front of me, that he had commissioned an artist to make and carve just for me. The top carving was of a rose with a ring tied to it. Inside the jewelry box was a real rose with the beautiful ring tied to it. He asked me if I would marry him. I was so shocked and overwhelmed, it nearly forgot to say yes. But of course I did!!!!