Stanley and I got to know each other via a mutual friend who set us up on a blind date at Barnes&Noble on January 23, 2002. We spent a lovely evening together and knew right from the start that there was chemistry between us.
Stanley spent months planning the proposal and truly surprised me like nobody else before. In December 2002 we were invited to a Christmas party and the same person who set us up on a blind date asked me if I would like to wear one of her rings. Appreciating this nice gesture, I said yes, and wore her sapphire ring not knowing at that time that Stanley had already asked her to call him after the party with information on the ring size.
Just after my college finals and before our vacation on Nantucket Island, on May 13, 2003, Stanley surprised me with a Plaza Nails gift certificate and, to my surprise, insisted on having my nails done that day. He picked me up right after my manicure and drove me to his house. He said he had a surprise for me, then took my hand and walked me upstairs to his room. I was simply astonished and could not believe my eyes. I laughed nervously and screamed: "What?" His room looked fabulous!!! On his desk, covered with blue wrapping paper, in a glass vase filled with colorful confetti there was a dozen, beautiful, red roses, he had made himself using red and green tissue paper. On the desk, there was also his digital camera taking pictures of my totally surprised face.
With Stanley kneeling on both knees in front of me and a romantic sound of a music CD he had composed for me, I reached for a rose. The first rose I picked said: "try again," the second: "don’t give up" and the third one: "you are getting closer." It was the 10th rose that had a secret message for me (every sentence written on a separate petal):
"Anna I love you very much"
"You are a wonderful person"
"You make me a better person that I can be by myself"
"You make me feel good about myself"
"I cannot imagine the rest of my life without you"
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you"
"Anna"
Will
You
Marry
Say "Yes"
Say "Yes"
"Congratulations"
Still in the state of shock I was not able to say anything at all but Stanley was prepared even for that. A couple of months in advance he told his parents about the proposal and they made a card for me : "Anna, we would be honored to have you as our daughter-in-law. We love you." I couldn’t help tears coming down my cheeks after he handed this card to me, however, the biggest surprise was yet to come. In January 2003 Stanley went to another state but he never told me the reason behind this trip; he had me wait until the proposal day. He told me that he wanted to ask my parents if he could marry their daughter which is nothing unusual unless you future in laws don’t speak the same language you do. Far from giving up, Stanley went on the Internet, found my aunt’s address and driving directions. He went to another state to see a lady he had never met before. He bought flowers and chocolates, introduced himself and asked her to help him with translation. After an enormous amount of practicing, he called Poland and asked my mom (in Polish) if he could marry me. I could not believe this!!!
"Anna, I am on my knees over here waiting for you to say "yes," I heard next.
Surprised and overwhelmed with happiness I screamed "yes" and gave him the biggest hug, wanting to stay in his loving arms forever.
Stanley reminded me to read the remaining petal left from my surprise rose:
"Remove the confetti from the vase to reveal a gift I have for you"
Inside the vase, hidden in the confetti I found the cutest cardboard box with a gorgeous, perfectly fitting and already insured internally flawless diamond ring. To surprise me even more, Stanley hid a web camera between his books and recorded the entire proposal on a CD. Now, we can not only go back to this day any time we want to, but we can also share this exciting moment with our friends and family.
Anna,
Wilton, CT
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