Labor (Day) of Love

I figured blogging would be the best way to make this announcement with the greatest detail and highest consistency. This weekend, I proposed to Legal Counsel and she accepted. We're engaged!

Please note: this is a documentation of my proposal rather than a humor post. If you're looking for oddball comments, this post isn't for you.

Labor Day Weekend, 2006. Legal Counsel and I decided to drive to Santa Fe, NM for holiday. "Why Santa Fe?" is the question we are frequently asked. "Because we've never been there," is our answer. We like to travel to new places and do new things. Plus, C & C Music Factory had nothing but good things to say.

We'd been discussing Santa Fe for several weeks. I'd been looking at engagement rings for several more weeks. I have been going into jewelry stores searching for the perfect ring for quite some time. I never found one that really stood out as the "right one." I was worried I'd have to settle, which is unacceptable because Montgomery does not settle.

Once we were certain that Santa Fe was going to happen, I was certain that I'd propose there. I went to the jewelry store, worried that I'd have to pick the best available option. But then I saw it. The perfect ring. The ring I'd been searching for. For months I've been filing away Legal Counsel's comments on jewelry for consideration during engagement ring purchase. This ring fit all her criteria, except the one about summoning Captain Planet. Here it is:

If you run into Legal Counsel, don't look directly at it. Use your peripheral vision or you might go blind from all its majesty. I got the ring sized, then put the box in my pocket for the trip.

"You kept it in your pocket? You're crazy!" You're right, I am crazy. Crazy like a fox! The reason for the pocket box is simple: I didn't know when the proposal would go down, and I wanted to be ready for the right moment. I was playing it by ear.

I considered all the proposal options. In the wilderness overlooking the world? Beautiful, but not right for us. Plus, we'd be sweaty and gross by the time we reached the right spot. Disneyland? Great if she was proposing to me, but maybe not as fitting for her. Grand romantic gesture, such as sky-writing? Always struck me as a little weird. Over a fancy dinner? Traditional and classy, but it didn't feel right.

But Santa Fe felt good. It was a place we'd never been, and we're all about exploration. It's a beautiful city and there are a variety of potential places. Eventually I narrowed it down to two options: around art or in the Plaza. Santa Fe has tons of art, which provides many romantic settings. The two "artsy" options I considered were The Awakening Museum and Shidoni. But I was unsure of what Shidoni actually looked like (is it romantic?) and The Awkening is very religious (unlike us) and indoors. I always imagined myself proposing outdoors. So I decided to go with The Plaza, the 400-year old park/community meeting place in downtown Santa Fe. This decision was made the day of the proposal, so you can see why I had to be prepared with ring in pocket.

But really my main concern was that it had to feel right. I could orchestrate a grand gesture, but what if the mood wasn't there? Would the wilderness feel properly romantic? Disneyland is fun, but where in the park would everything fall into place and just feel like the right time and place for a proposal? Even after my decision to do it in the Plaza, I knew it wouldn't happen if it didn't feel romantic and perfect. Everything had to fall into place. And it did.

So I was walking around all day acting nervous with a ringbox in my pocket, which she totally noticed. There's a picture of me before the proposal where you can clearly see the outline of a cube in my pocket. But what's wrong with that? I wanted it to be a surprise, but I also wanted to hint at it to build the anticipation. She fell right into my trap.

After a great day in Santa Fe of looking at galleries, old Cathedrals, the Awakening, and just general exploration we walked back to our hotel and changed into nicer clothes for a 9:30 dinner at Pasqual's. but the reservation wasn't for a couple hours so I suggested we take a walk through the Plaza to check it out sans the hustle and/or bustle of the daytime. We grabbed some coffee and headed over to the Plaza.

Let me just say it was perfect. The trees were strung with twinkly white lights, the weather was perfect, and some tents separated us from everybody else around the Plaza. It was like we were in our own little world; I'd show pictures but Legal Counsel stole my camera. If that wasn't enough, there was a man nearby playing soft acoustic guitar and singing. Jackpot. The only song I remember him playing was "Tequila Sunrise" (Eagles, not Cypress Hill) - I was too nervous to remember anything else. It was the perfect romantic setting and everything I had imagined. Proposing in a park - for some reason it just feels perfect for us.

We danced to the music by some benches, just the two of us. Nobody else around. We're prone to dancing when we're alone, I'll admit it. After some dancing and smiling and kissing, I decided it was time. I spent the next few minutes telling her how perfect she is and why she makes my life better than it has ever been. When her eyes started to water up, I knew it was time for the big finish. I got down on one knee, opened the box and asked her to marry me. She started crying more, said yes, and I put the ring on her finger. It turned out better than I ever imagined.

We hugged and kissed. She called her mom. Then we went to dinner at Pasqual's, which was excellent. We celebrated with champagne and stared at each other lovingly the whole time.

The proposal was perfect. The night was perfect. The day was perfect. The whole trip was perfect. I didn't want our proposal ruined by a lackluster trip, so I'm quite happy.

I know I'm forgetting tons and tons of details. I might describe more once I get the pictures and regain my ability to think straight. I'm still in the clouds from this weekend.