It was the turn of the new year when I felt a peace in my heart about asking my girlfriend of three years to be my forever. It was mid-winter, and although I was born and raised a New Englander, I had always dreamt of proposing under a summer sun. Coincidentally, Naomi’s brother lives in Miami, and her family had planned a trip to visit him for the first week of February.
By the time I had made up my mind about becoming a fiancé, I had exactly two weeks to pop the question before Naomi was on a flight to South Beach- Needless to say, I had a lot to do. Keeping this a secret was one of the greatest challenges i’ve ever faced. I found a dream location at the Tea House at “Vizcaya Museum & Gardens” in Miami, booked my flights south, and I got her engagement ring (that ended up being finished the day before my flight). Naomi’s father is not in the picture, so I called her older brother asking for his blessing to marry his sister. In the blink of an eye, there I was sitting at the airport, emotionally staring into a ring box, knowing that when I came home my life would be forever changed.
When I got to Florida things escalated quickly as my fiancé (to be) and I were staying in the same hotel, but she was completely unaware of it. My room was right above the pool. Ironically, I got settled in and looked out the window and girl I was about to propose to in just a few hours was laying out in the Florida sun. It was a surreal moment knowing that was the last time I’d ever see her as just my girlfriend.
At 3pm on February 2nd, I was standing in the Tea House at Vizcaya Museum- a place I had only seen in pictures. It was magic as Naomi came around the corner and saw me standing in the gazebo, roses in hand. With tears in our eyes, and loved ones all around, I got on one knee and asked her to marry me.
We celebrated that night on south beach to a perfect sunset and a full moon. It’s most exciting to think- this is not where the story ends, but just where it begins…