Spotlight

We went to the Upstream Brewing Company, the place where we had our first date. I invited one of my best friends from college and his wife to join us under the guise that he invited us out. I also invited my fellow fraternity brothers from Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Xi Alpha chapter to come and serenade her. It started at the end of dinner when they got up and just started singing. It happened to be St. Patrick’s Day which was just happen chance when I picked the day to do it. It was a week before our 1 year anniversary, but I couldn’t wait another week to do it after I got the ring. The members of the fraternity sang 3 songs to everyone at the restaurant and then they said they were really there for a special couple, Carly and Erik. Then I gave my speech and told her I had a really important question which was at the end of a song. Then we sang Serenade to a Girl. In the middle of the song we traditionally kneel down on one knee and hold our love’s hand. I did that while singing. Then at the end of the song I asked her to marry me and she said “yes.” Then I put the ring on her finger and yelled to everyone in the Brewery that she said “yes.” Everyone cheered. Then we hugged and kissed. Then a few minutes later everyone in the Brewery was clicking their silverware on a glass wanting us to kiss again, which we did. She had no clue. In fact, the in the afternoon, before the dinner, she wanted to go ring shopping. We went ring shopping and I played along with it. I also bought a new outfit especially for the evening.

Badlands

How He...

How He...

I found a cute spot located in the middle of all the gardens, and put up a sign ” will you marry me ?”

I surprised Talia at the Orlando Eye the day before Valentine’s Day (she thought she was going to a dinner with her parents and brother). The Eye is a key spot for us because it’s where we went on our first date. I reserved a carriage that was decorated for Valentine’s Day. Once we were in the carriage with a view of Orlando from above, I popped the question. And of course, she said yes!

I took her to her favorite beach and had a guitar player playing our song and asked her there

We flew to Paris for the week in February. I originally rented out a yacht and planned to propose on the Seine river but after the river flooded the boat was cancelled. I then worked with the concierge to move the whole proposal in 1 day. I brought her to the Pont de Bir-Hakeim bridge in Paris with a clear view of the Eiffel tower. I had a photographer waiting for us. I waited until I got her to look at the tower and dropped to a knee. When she turned around I proposed. We then had a quick photo shoot on the bridge. We then went to dinner at Cafe L’Homme with a view of the tower and I had a dozen long stem red roses and champagne delivered. We then did our engagement photos all over Paris.

Catherine and I met when we were both working on a cruise ship called the “Norwegian Star.” We got engaged the day before her birthday on our way to wine country in Long Island, NY. I popped the question right as we pulled away from Connecticut on the Cross Sound Ferry boat, the “Jennifer C.”

I took my fiance to the beach in Maui, Hawaii and read her a poem that lead to me taking out the ring and proposing.

At the end of the poem where she read, “As I ask of thee,” I responded by asking “Will you marry me?”. The rest is history. She said yes.

At the Rockefeller ice rink.

inside Langjokull Glacier, Iceland