An Engagement Ring-$XXXXX
Asking a Woman to Marry You and She Says "Yes"-PRICELESS
I hate to relate my engagement to a commercial marketing campaign, but it is a good one and I did purchase the engagement ring and the wine tasting using my MasterCard (for the points)!
On September 1st, Marisa and I decided to go the annual Grape Stomp at Becker Vineyards between Johnson City and Fredricksburg. For all she knew, it was supposed to be a quiet Labor Day weekend with just the two of us at Horseshoe Bay. The day started with us running to a restaurant two miles away for breakfast with a leisurely walk back to help burn off the delicious breakfast burrito. We then headed off to Becker about 40 miles south of Horseshoe Bay and Marble Falls.
To my dismay, when we arrived the parking lot was full. We have been to several vineyards in the hill country and usually there are only a handful of people at each which makes for a very unique and personalized experience. I guess the Grape Stomp is a big hit; there must have been at least 100 couples. To make matters worse, it had started to drizzle so the guests were gathered inside the tasting room and under the porches to keep dry instead of spread across the beautiful courtyard. I was hoping to find a secluded area so that we could have some privacy, but privacy tended to elude me. I had never been to Becker before and was pretty much winging it. The only constraint was that we needed to be in San Antonio by 7 p.m. to meet some friends and family to celebrate.
I was nervous and wasn't too sure about what I was going to say. However, the day before I had lunch with a good friend who told me not to worry about it. He said that it is similar to a Charlie Brown special; all the women hear is "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, Will You Marry Me?" Remembering this tended to put my mind at ease. But, I was constantly glancing around trying to find the perfect spot while keeping an eye on my watch...I calculated that I would pop the question around 5:15 because we needed to be on our way to San Antonio by 5:45. I kept feeling the outline of the ring in my pocket to make sure it was still there; I didn't bring the ring in the box because it was too big and would certainly be too obvious.
During our wine tasting, we just happened to be served by the vineyard's wedding coordinator. She and Marisa spoke about weddings as Marisa promoted her event planning business, Charmed Events. At one point in the conversation the coordinator asked when we were going to get engaged. I thought to myself this would be a perfect segue to a proposal but quickly regained by senses and refrained...I didn't want to propose on the floor of a wine tasting room. But if they only knew that the ring was in my pocket.
Finally, I found a great little wrought iron table sitting by itself with a couple of wooden rocking chairs under the porch of the bed and breakfast. We sat at the table and enjoyed the wine with our cheese and crackers. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous with a large oak tree and vineyards in the background along with the smell of fresh lavender and rain. I knew this was the perfect time (not to mention that it was about 10 minutes past 5pm). I got down on one knee and proposed.
Marisa had no idea what I was doing, and I caught her significantly off guard. She accepted simultaneously as she began to cry. There was a couple walking by who probably initially thought this was an unhappy occasion rather than a joyous one. They congratulated us, and we asked them to take a picture for posterity.
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