kevin's perspective

The ring
So, Lindsay went to CES in Vegas alone this year… initially a huge bummer I wouldn’t be out there to support her, but on second thought a great opportunity for me to run around and get some things done without having to explain myself.

I’ve been looking at rings with various levels of seriousness for the last few years, but with 7 days, it was time to get serious. I had a really good idea of what specifications I wanted but I didn’t really know the price point and I certainly didn’t have a specific business in mind.

So, to make a long story shorter, I ran all over town and saw a ton of people, the people I chose were still searching the market for my diamond when Lindsay got home. So there was one precarious morning of me walking her to the corner, kissing her goodbye and then running back to the car to drive out to make my final approval on the diamond.

I found out that finding and falling in love with Lindsay was the easiest part of the process. Man, looking at rings is stressful, but I wanted to give her something completely from me - no outsiders. Even over the years I never really asked Lindsay what she liked or wanted. My first thought was that it should be something I gave to her, and that’s how it ended up.

The place
I had been thinking about asking Lindsay in a quintessential DC place, so that no matter where we end up we would always have our DC story. We have been ice skating there a few times over the years and really enjoy it, in the summers sometimes we will just stop by and watch the fountains for a bit before heading home (somehow we always seem to cross though or end up at the sculpture garden), so it was already a special place for us… and I decided to make it a very special place about 2 years ago. So basically I had to keep all this knowledge under my hat for a few years - not really easy or enjoyable.

Lindsay had said on a few occasions that she would love to have a photo of her engagement, and I knew right away that I wanted someone to be hiding candid camera style and shoot it. I knew I would need two photogs whose work I admired, but I wanted them to have different styles. That way we had the best chances at getting different perspectives. I was thrilled to have Samer and Michelle (pixilista) available to do this for us, they did such an amazing job and I just know ill be thanking them for years to come. There’s really no repayment for what they were able to provide us, one of the most memorable days of our lives was frozen in time by two people who are not external to us, they know us as a couple, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

The day
So I told Lindsay that I wanted her to come into the city for a little celebration, I said it was a work thing and that it would be nice to have a date night. She agreed and said she would try to get into the city by 5. So I could get her to the garden by 5:30. I was thinking late sunset and twinkle lights for romance (we almost stayed on schedule). Linds without having any knowledge of the events to unfold wasn’t really in as much of a rush to stick to the schedule (that she had no idea about). Samer, Michelle and her husband Ron, were very flexible and sat in the café for a moment keeping warm, while I tried to get binds in place. So I met up with her around 9th street or so and said hey why don’t we go ice skating… I don’t know if she remembers, but I’ve been dropping hints about wanting to go skating this year for months… I mean like just before thanksgiving. She always agreed when I brought it up, but that day she had a tough day at work and was really looking forward to just walking to a restaurant and having some dinner. I think she had a doughnut around lunch and not much else all day. So never mind I told her to dress warmly, (under the guise of us having quite a walk) she was like “nahhh I don’t really want to ice skate), and I said something along the lines on come on it will be fun and finally she agreed (thankfully because there were photogs in the trees). I guess I was being a little more insistent than normal because at one point she pats down my coat asking if I had a ring box or something…. I told her don’t be ridiculous, lets go have fun and somehow she bought it. That being said very early on in the ring process I told the people that I needed a pouch to keep it in, I wanted a box, but if I had anything like that on me it would give it all way. I had a plan, a large intricate long-standing plan, and if I didn’t stick to it, I would ruin the whole surprise.

So the ring was in my dress shirt pocket, and Lindsay patted down my external coat pockets, (score - one point for me). Out on the ice, I watched Lindsay’s face start to glow, her worries of a stressful day had just disappeared into the evening. I’m really thankful we had the ice skating as an activity - it helped the before and after proposal process. It gave us an excuse to stay close to one another, hold hands and almost whisper to one another. I prodded her about if she was having fun, and I was thrilled when I saw that particular “I’m having a really fun time” Lindsay smile. It’s normally reserved for surfing, photos/cameras, and general geeking out, but when I saw it I knew that all systems were go.

After a few times around the ice they called for the rink to be cleared for the zamboni, I had not specifically asked the crew if it was ok to stay on the ice or if it was ok for me to propose. But when I checked the place out a week or so earlier after work, they were so easy-going about the whole system there, that I knew there wasn’t going to be a problem. To be honest, because I didn’t know if they were going to clear the ice, I wasn’t completely set on asking her then so I was constantly scanning the middle of the ice looking for a good opportunity. I was fortunate enough to get the zamboni moment. As soon as they called for the ice to be cleared, I told Lindsay that we should head into the center for one last twirl (she loves it). Well after she came around, I grabbed her and started to get down on my knee. At this point the perfect shirt pocket hiding place wasn’t all that convenient. I was having the worst time getting the ring out. As I fumbled I started telling Lindsay how special she was to me (or something like that I really don’t remember what I said). I finally got the ring out and asked “will you marry me” and I know it’s a cliché but this is what happened to me. My vision was completely blurred around Lindsay’s face, I could feel my heart beating… and getting my fingers to cooperate to open that button holding my shirt pocket was the most difficult task I’ve ever attempted. So after I ask her, she its just repeating over and over Oh my god oh my my god, is this happening, what are you doing, oh my god are you for real oh my god. She says that I told her she didn’t answer yet, but all I remember saying is if she would like to try on the ring and her response to that question was “oh my god yes”. After that I got back up on my feet and kissed her, only after that kiss did I hear the crowd clapping. I then took her hand and we skated off the ice, it was then when I told her that I wasn’t alone tonight and there were photographers in the trees. She didn’t find out who they were until they walked over.

After an initial cool down zamboni period (meeting my conspirators) of which we have pictures but is really sort of difficult to remember, it felt like a 30 second break, but I know the Zamboni takes longer than that. Soon, Lindsay and I returned to the ice, with the photogs in plain sight this time. Again, I’m really thankful for the ice skating time, I was able to collect myself a bit and say all the things to Lindsay that I had been running through my head the past few weeks in preparation of the moment. I didn’t know that when the moment came I would forget everything, its amazes me how nervous I got, in my mind I was going to play it all smooth...but I’m glad it turned out the way it did. I feel like everything fell into place, we had the perfect evening, and a story that we can remember and tell forever.

I still can’t believe that everything worked out so well, but I guess I have been planning it for years, and I knew that the pictures were not something I had to worry about. (thanks again to my super talented friends)

Anyway, that’s my story. Everyone who meets Lindsay instantly sees how lucky I am to have her in my life. I’ve felt it since the day I met her. Her smile melts your heart, her presence lights up a room and I can honesty say that I’m a better person having known her. I am honored to have her on my arm.

-kevin