In the midst of the pacific on a cruise in winter of 2003 was the last place that we thought we’d meet "the one." But that was just what fate we had in store to change our lives forever. We met, we danced, and we talked the nights away sailing our lives towards each other. Seemingly to good to be true, there was a catch to this fairy tale. Roxanne lived 470 miles away in the small town of Grass Valley, but I was determined to somehow make the impossible, a reality.
Starting with a few words in passing, we quickly caught each other attention. Through the time we spent talking on the cruise, I knew that somehow this girl was the one I was to marry. Of course the distance did make me wonder how this might work, but I quickly pushed the fears aside and began to think about how I might propose to her someday. Since age 16 I had declared to everyone that I would get married at age 26, well I was 25 and now it all made perfect sense.
So back to the big dilemma; How was I going to win this girl I had just met on vacation let alone the fact that she was a country girl living so far from me. We said goodbye as we left the ship, but not before I had her meet my mom, because I knew I would be seeing this girl again. It wasn’t but a day later when she called me to let me know she would be in town an extra week. Seeing my opportunity I asked her if I could take her out that Thursday. January 16th, turned out to be the best date of my life. Starting off with a few rounds of miniature golf, our competitive nature brought us to place bets. If I won, she had to move down, if she won she had to move down and I had give her a job. Fair enough, I won. But still at this point it was dreams and hopes with no such possibilities on the horizon. The night continued with bowling, ice cream, dinner, dancing, and of course a movie. To end our perfect date, our first kiss leaving me even more determined to win Roxanne’s heart.
A year of struggling through a long distance relationship strengthened our foundation and allowed us to focus on the inside not the mere physical attraction. Through all the visits and endless conversations we knew that although we were falling deeply in love, but needed to experience our relationship on a day to day level in order move to the next step. In January she was going to be moving down to Southern California, and I couldn?t wait to be with her everyday. Being away from her was extremely tough but, it also allowed me to create an elaborate proposal that would win her hand in marriage. I started with the idea to put the ring in a treasure chest. Since I couldn’t find one small enough with a lock and key, I built it myself. I took the key and had it built into a heart key chain with the inscription, "You hold the key to the treasures of my heart it’s as simple as that". For her 20th birthday I gave her this key chain, little did she know it really was the key that would unlock the little treasure to wrap around her finger. After a month of researching and shopping for diamonds, I finally found the perfect ring that would fit snuggly in the treasure chest.
This was just the start of what I planned to do. For many years before ever meeting Roxy, I dreamed up ways that I might propose. So now that it was my one big chance, I was going to go all out. Being that my profession is video production, I decided I would make a country music video to propose to my country girl. So I went for it and set out to produce a music video to our song, "It’s as Simple as That" by Lonestar. But if I was going to do all this, I wanted to do it right and surprise her with it in a theater. After securing the theater, finding the barn location through a friend, and renting the production equipment. I gathered up all my friends for crew and talent and created a country band where I could be the lead singer. The shoot couldn’t have gone better; everyone did such a great job to make this crazy idea of mine work.
Once the music video was complete and the theater reserved for the big day, all that was left was to ask her family for her hand in marriage. I was incredibly nervous, but I wanted to do this right. I flew up to Grass Valley and took her Mother and Brother out to dinner and asked for their permission to marry Roxanne. I told them all about my plans and showed them the music video. They loved the video and gave me their blessing. I returned from that trip glowing with excitement and relief that everything was ready for me to propose.
Now all that was left to do was wait till she could actually move down. This turned out to be the hardest part. Her anticipated move was delayed 2 months, but the day finally did come. Four days after she moved, I proposed. The proposal went perfectly and was all that I prayed it would be. To see how she reacted to what I did for her was the most amazing feeling I had ever felt. The best part about true love is that with Roxanne my love gets stronger everyday that I am with her.
Proposal Story By:
Chad
Walnut, California
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