Few things create more anticipation in a man’s life than planning the events surrounding his proposal to the woman he loves. While men are not known for their attention to detail or aesthetics, on at least this one occasion, most guys are willing to spend a little extra time. And some guys end up completely obsessing about the occasion. I definitely fall into the latter category.

My proposal to my fiancé Noel was supposed to be elaborate, elegant, and entirely too romantic. Actually, I was hoping to reserve one of our favorite restaurants for the evening, I mean, reserve the entire restaurant. But, while our favorite restaurant in California was willing to do this, our choice in Virginia was not. And my plans were dashed. Well, not entirely. But, since Noel likes surprises, I decided to ‘pop the question.’

On June 25, 2007, my girlfriend (which she was before the evening) and I decided to go swing dancing at a local restaurant for a relatively low-key, but fun-filled evening. Every twirl and dip, my mind was only thinking about the words I would say, and how she would respond. Inconspicuously, I constantly patted my jacket, reassured by the little box that I had tucked away in my pocket.

The evening drew to a close, and we walked out to the car; Noel had no idea what was coming. My plan was to take her to a memorable spot of ours, and propose with my ring.

Now a little background: About a year earlier, on July 11 (Noel’s birthday), I was living in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and she was in Washington DC. I drove up to DC that evening to celebrate her birthday with friends. After the party was over, and most of her friends had left, we both took a walk to a nearby park. We crossed a bridge at the entrance of the park, which led us into a small meadow. Surrounded by trees full of fireflies, the rest of the evening was very special. It was one of the first ‘dates’ we had, since we both realized that we wanted to have a future together. That evening I knew, that if we were to get married, I would want to propose on that little bridge. Now fast forward a year later.

Noel is not the best with directions, which I took full advantage of. Coupled with the darkness, I decided to take the “back roads” home for a more relaxing drive. As we talked on the ride home, I asked her if she wanted to take a walk because it was such a nice night. We pulled over, her not knowing that we were a short distance from our special bridge.

As she stepped out of the car I did a quick ring check, patting down my jacket. To my horror, my ring was not there. Frantic thoughts raced through my head. I looked through all my jacket pockets, and then around the seat, and then on the floor. I couldn’t find my ring. While we were dancing I had taken my jacket off. I figured it must have fallen out when I hung my jacket over the chair.

I wasn’t sure what to say. If I told Noel that I had forgotten something at the restaurant, I knew she would ask what it was. So, I decided to cover-up and say I couldn’t find my wallet. So we had to go back to the restaurant.

We pulled up in front, and I told Noel to wait in the car as I was “only going to be a second.” I ran inside, and, amazingly, on of our friends who had been hanging out with us had found the ring.

He said, “Is this your ring?” I said, “Yes, that’s my ring!” He responded, “Wow, are you proposing tonight?” I said, “Yes. I need that!”

Triumphantly, I came back outside waiving my wallet, saying I had found it. So we embarked on our back roads journey for a second time.

I asked if she still wanted to take a walk, and thankfully she did. So we pulled over in the same spot by the park. Of course, she didn’t know it was the same spot. We started walking towards the bridge.

As we got closer, she noticed the bridge saying, “This looks like our special bridge.”

“Well, it is our special bridge,” I replied.

As we got near the middle of it, I turned to her and said, “Well, I should tell you that I lied about something. It wasn’t my wallet that I lost, it was this.” I dropped down on one knee and presented her the ring.

Through tear-filled eyes, she said yes, and then wouldn’t stop hugging me. I slipped the ring on her finger, then we walked over the bridge and watched the thousands of fireflies in the trees. She said it was “magical.”

We hopped in the car, and started calling all of our friends and family. We are engaged.