The Story of the Proposal
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May 31 - June 2, 2013, we went to Williamsburg, VA for the weekend for the wedding of my friend Cat Tack, now Cat Rykowski. In order to make being my date as easy as possible for Tim, I had planned the whole weekend - our flights, rental car, hotel room, spots on the wedding bus. Everything.
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I had even planned brunch on Sunday with my college bestie, Abby Logan Whorley & her family - Massey (whom I introduced to Abby in undergrad...I take full credit) and their kids, Lydia & Wally. Little did I know that Tim had reached out to Abby on Facebook and set his own plan in motion.
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The weekend was already perfect. Cat and Teddy's wedding was beautiful. Tim and I had a ball at their wedding reception, and I caught the bouquet!!! Foreshadowing? Since this was the third bouquet I've caught since knowing Tim (was I sending a hint, or what?), I didn't think too much about it.
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We all went to the Blue Talon for brunch. (I might have been a little hungover from Cat's wedding the night before. Hair of the dog at brunch fixed that. :) After brunch, Abby, Lydia and I leave the boys for some "girl-time." The three of us walked around campus getting caught up on life.
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As we walked around campus, we reminisced about stories from undergrad. I enjoyed being back on campus. (Go Tribe! I love my Alma Mater.) We decided (or in hindsight, Abby made me think that we decided together) to show Lydia the Crim Dell Bridge and tell her the story about the bridge.
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The Crim Dell Bridge is voted as one of the top "Most Romantic College Spots in the Nation." The story goes: Kiss your loved one on the bridge and your fates are destined to be intertwined forever. Walk across alone and you'll die an old hag. Needless to say - kissing on the bridge is a big deal.
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Two years earlier, Tim Stevens had done just that. Kissed me on the bridge. It was the day that I graduated from the W&M MBA program. Tim and I had leisurely strolled around Williamsburg when we found ourselves on the bridge. He knew the story. He knew what he was doing then.
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And he certainly knew what he was doing on June 2, 2013. As we approached the Crim Dell, I saw Tim on the other side walking towards me. Completely unaware of anything unusual, I excitedly said to him, "Oh! How convenient that you are here!" and recapped the bridge story for Tim.
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Tim, of course, thought I knew what was going on at that point. Nope. I was clueless. He met me in the middle of the bridge where we shared a beautiful kiss...our second on the Crim Dell. Then, he handed me a card. At that moment, Abby runs up and says, "Let me get your purse."
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You would think, at this point, that I would know something was up. Not yet. Just thrilled to be getting a card on the Crim Dell from my honey. Then, I opened the card... In it was the business card that I gave him when we first met on a plane on 1/20/2011 & the receipt from our 1st date.
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The card thanked me for being his "Wing Woman for Life," and when I looked up, he was pulling a box out of his pocket. He got down on one knee, and in the most beautiful moment of my entire life, he said, "Anna Truluck Perry, will you marry me?"
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I was so completely surprised and so excited that this was really happening that the only thing I could say was, "Really? Really?? REALLY???" My hands were on his shoulder, and I vaguely remember shaking him, somewhat violently, with joy. "REALLY!!!??!!!!"
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Tim stood up, still holding the ring, my hands still on his shoulders, tears of joy in my eyes, and asked me, "So... is that a yes?" Emphatically, I replied, "Yes!! Yes, of course, YES!!" Tim took the ring from it's little red box and slid a magnificently beautiful ring onto my finger.
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Abby was on one side of the bridge snapping photos, while Massey was on the other - a brilliant plan as they were able to capture the whole proposal with action shots. They were also key in helping us celebrate in style with 4 champagne flutes & a bottle of Dom Perignon.
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June 2, 2013, is the best day of my life...so far. Sunday, May 11, 2014 is right around the corner, and I hope that you will be there to celebrate with us.
