2023 was the year Emma & Alex decided to finally plan their first trip overseas together! When deciding on where to travel to, they chose to visit 2 beautiful cities neither of them had been to before - Budapest & Prague!

A little context before we start the story... Emma & Alex had their 7th anniversary on March 5, 2023. They moved across the country to Austin, Texas in Sept 2022, moved in together, bought their 2nd home, and was planning to bring home their first family dog - Zoey! All this to say, they felt it was time to take that next step.

On their anniversary, Emma & Alex went ring shopping to celebrate. It was an interesting experience to say the least... awful sales associate & an overwhelming amount of information. The next place they looked at was the one and decisions started to be made. Emma & Alex took their time choosing what they liked together, but as soon as they got far enough into the process Emma was removed until the big day.

At this time Emma had no idea when or where it was going to happen. She shared with Alex that it would be so special if they got engaged on their trip coming up. Alex being an AMAZING actor (aka liar) made Emma think the ring wasn't going to be ready in time and that he was sorry that he couldn't make that wish come true. Emma was not disappointed as it didn't matter where or how he did it! Just that one day it would. She let go of the idea, but of course still had it in the back of her mind that one day he would pop the question.

Fast forward to the planning of this trip. During one planning session, Alex told Emma that he had booked a surprise dinner reservation one of the nights in Budapest. Emma was very suspicious of this... however, when Emma and Alex talked about getting engaged the one thing Emma asked was to NOT be proposed to in a restaurant. The reasoning - it's cheesy, people stare at you, and the idea always turns into a dumb situation like hiding the ring in a cheesecake. No thank you! All this to say, Emma not wanting this caused her to be confused and ultimately disregard the restaurant as a proposal option. Now let's start the story!!

Alex and Emma start their journey to Budapest, Hungary - Emma's choice for her love of the stunning Parliament Building! During their travels, Alex was normal. Not acting secretive, didn't care if Emma was in his bags or on this phone. Just completely normal. Again, AMAZING actor (aka liar)!! They make it to Budapest, and the trip is going perfectly!

It was their 3rd day in Budapest and they were absolutely in love with the city! On this day they had planned brunch at the famous New York Cafe and a walking tour exploring the differences between the Pest & Buda parts of the city. The tour ended on the Buda side at Fisherman's Bastion, a very popular site for its beautiful view overlooking the city, the river, and Emma's favorite site - the Parliament Building!

When the tour ended, Emma wanted a snack (probably gelato & coffee), but before they could grab something to eat, Alex wanted to explore Fisherman's Bastion. The key thing to note here is they had planned to visit Fisherman's Bastion the next day when it was less crowded in the morning. Emma was confused, but went along with it for Alex's sake. As they looked around, they make their way to the corner where a popular tourist restaurant with a terrace overlooking the river was, called Halászbástya Étterem. Don't ask us to pronounce it... They had looked at booking this restaurant for dinner one night but decided against it since the reviews did not look good. Remembering this Emma asked Alex why they we're stopping to look at this restaurant? And Alex (the amazing liar) said he was just curious to see it.

Emma & Alex finished up touring around Fisherman's Bastion and headed to a nearby cafe. Emma got her gelato and coffee, but was nervous about their timing. This was the evening Alex had planned the surprise dinner. Emma was still somewhat suspicious of this reservation. She told Alex she didn't feel like she had enough time to fully get ready before the reservation. Alex stepped away to use the restroom, and came back to say that he called the restaurant and they were able to move the reservation back. Emma was happy, but also confused. If Alex was proposing, how could he move the reservation so easily? Don't these kind of things have set times? The reservation being so easy to move, made Emma believe a proposal was definitely not going to happen.

As they leave to go get ready for dinner, Emma asks Alex what is he going to wear tonight. He says probably just khakis and a nice button up. A few days prioir, Alex told Emma to save her nicest dress for this dinner. Emma chose her white dress. Emma thought them being dressed up and in this beautiful place would be a great opportunity to take some pictures. This led Emma to ask Alex if he would wear his suit he wore to our friend's wedding we attended before our trip. He didn't seem interested. After Emma basically begged him to wear it, he finally agreed. AGAIN AMAZING actor (aka liar)!!! Emma basically teed up this whole situation for him so he could continue on deceiving her...

Emma and Alex now both dressed and ready to go to dinner. As their waiting for the uber, Emma notices something in Alex's teeth. Emma thought he could deal with it at the restaurant, but Alex insisted on going up to the room to fix it. This was odd to Emma, but she didn't think much about it. He comes back down and they head to the restaurant. The uber starts to make his way up through the hills of Buda. Emma had no idea where they we're going, until they pulled up and she recognized the place. They we're back at Fisherman's Bastion! Emma is shocked and very confused at this point... especially when they start making their way to the restaurant they scoped out earlier.

Emma obviously calls Alex out asking "why are we going here? We decided not to eat here because of the reviews." Alex responds "Maybe I had a special menu prepared" with a big smile on his face. Emma is completely shocked and now just assumes the restaurant is definitely the only surprise happening tonight.

Emma and Alex walk inside the restaurant to the hostess stand. The hostess asks for the name on the reservation, where Alex responds "Alexander Stewart". The hostess scans her list and asks him to repeat the name. She and an additional hostess scan the list again. Having trouble finding their reservation, she calls over the manager. The manager takes a look and then says to Alex "I'm sorry sir your table is not ready yet". Alex starts to become upset. Emma is very confused because Alex never gets upset over stuff like this. The manager tries to rectify the situation and offers them a complimentary drink on the terrace while they wait. Emma is quite excited about this!

The manager leads them to the stair case that takes you up to the terrace. As they're walking Emma sees that the staircase is roped off. The manager tells them that the terrace is closed for a private event later this evening. Emma thinks this is a little suspicious, but this whole time everything has been normal so she doesn't read too much into it. As they make their way up the stairs the manager has Emma and Alex wait at a lower level so he can set up a table and chairs. As their waiting Alex is still very upset and super apologetic to Emma about the table not being ready. Emma is confused and tries to tell Alex she is fine with it and is excited to have a drink out on their beautiful terrace. Alex's acting/lying skills were top tier in this moment!!

Alex starts to calm down just as the manager comes back. He guides them up the remainder of the stairs. As they get to the top, Emma starts to walk to the table. Just as she is about to sit down, Alex grabs her purse, sets it on the table, takes her hand, and leads her around the corner where she sees rose pedals and a lighted sign spelling out Marry Me!

Emma was in complete shock smiling ear to ear! It was most beautiful set up with the perfect view of Budapest, and Emma's favorite site - the Parliament Building. Alex takes Emma's hand, gets down on one knee and says "I've loved you since we we're 18. Will you marry me?". Emma bawling her eyes out, barely able to get 2 words out, says "I do".

THE END

P.S. - the manager was not actually the manager. He was the photographer who capture the most perfect moment of Emma & Alex's life. Alexander Morgan Stewart truly knows how to make a girl feel like she's in a fairytale, movie scene, and the luckiest girl in the entire world!