Kevin’s Proposal to Amy

The Setup

I wanted to propose to Amy in a romantic and memorable fashion. There are all of these classic stories of great proposals and I wanted ours to be one of them. I wanted Amy and I to have something we could talk about for years to come. So, I thought about it a bit and planned what I thought would be a good one. Then, my ring wasn't ready in time and I had to scrap the original idea. I missed my opportunity and had to think about how to do it some more and finally came up with an alternate plan and executed it when the ring finally arrived.

My plan was simple. I wanted the proposal to be a surprise and take her totally off guard. She was sort of expecting it at any time so, I really had to come up with the right timing. With the kids constantly with us in the evenings, I couldn't just arrange for us to have a special dinner or she'd know. I had to be creative and decided a lunchtime proposal might be a bit different.

Amy works in the Accounting department for her family's business, CBS Messenger Service, but is called upon to run “Specials” once in awhile. A “Special” is an off route or off the beaten path delivery. The messengers normally follow standard routes hitting regular customers. I arranged for Amy to run a very special “Special”. This required asking her brother Dave, her boss, to help me out.

A couple days before the big day, I talked to Dave about the idea and worked out for Amy to get a couple hours off work during the middle of the day. I also arranged with him for her to deliver a special package, that I would drop off, to a location of my choosing under the guise of her delivering a “Special”. We worked out that I could drop the package off with their father who would bring it in to the office to be delivered.

Amy and I love sushi so, I picked out Benihana of Schaumburg's Sushi bar as the location for the proposal.

I wanted the proposal to be centered around the idea of symbols so, I did some research and put together some materials for the proposal. I wrote Amy a nice letter to explain the symbolism and the meanings of everything. I placed a wax seal on her ring box with a yin/yang symbol pressed into it for the symbol of “balance”.

On the day of the proposal, I picked up a dozen roses of various symbolic colors. Red for “love”, red and white for “togetherness”, yellow for “friendship”, etc. I had each set of two roses wired together symbolic of the idea of “unity”. In my preparation, I had created several colored flags showing the meaning of that set of roses and wired them to the rose sets. I also picked up a large bag of fresh multicolored rose petals. Several different colors of roses together are symbolic of the idea that the person receiving them “means the world to you”.

I poured the rose petals into a plain brown box. Next, I placed her engagement ring into the box surrounded by the rose petals. I sealed the box and addressed it to a “Mr. Ashanddak”. Amy's last name is ASHby and my last name is WojDAK. Hence, the name ASH-AND-DAK is the combining of our names into one obscure but familiar name.

Fortunately for me, Amy was sent that morning on a real “Special” that would keep her out of the office all morning so, I was able to take the very important delivery box to the CBS office myself. Dave took the package and wrote up the delivery order himself.

Delivering the Proposal – Wednesday, October 16, 2005

I went from CBS to Benihana where I selected a corner table near the window to see her coming. I set out my symbolic roses on the table and placed the letter in the center of the table for her to view. I ordered a pot of tea and waited.

I had given Dave a scenario for why Amy had to deliver this package at lunchtime to a restaurant. The gist of it was that “Mr. Ashanddak was in a very important lunch meeting and needed this package to be delivered for the meeting. He was waiting at the restaurant for the package.” Dave embellished on the story by telling Amy that one of the other drivers had screwed up a delivery and that Mr. Ashandak was very mad. And, away she went with the package...mind you, inside the package was her ring. Yes, Amy was delivering her own ring to her own wedding proposal. <grin>

Amy arrived right on schedule and the hostess directed her to where the meeting was being held. I saw Amy look sort of puzzled as she viewed my solitary figure through a beaded curtain. I later found out she did a double-take because the guy looked a lot like me but she knew I was in Chicago working....or, I was supposed to be.

Amy arrived at my table with a stunned look on her face. She sat down, placed the package on the table, and looked all nervous and as if she didn't know what to do. So, with all of the flowers and the letter on the table, she reached over the letter and grabbed the menu to review. :) I suggested she read my short letter instead.

She read the letter and at the end of it, I announced to her that I had but one more symbol to show her. I pulled my pocket knife out of my pocket and reached across the table for the box Amy had brought in and, while she watched, I cut the box open to reveal the inner box in the bed of rose petals. I opened the ring box, got down on one knee, and proposed. And, then she accepted.

Yes, I had Amy deliver her own engagement ring to her own proposal!

It was a very “Special” lunch that day and it is my hope that each time she is sent on a “Special” for work, she remembers the best “Special” she ever delivered.