Tony's Version:

I was being a real smooth operator. I (finally) decided that it was time for me to make a move. I knew picking a ring for Laura was going to be difficult because the ring would have to be as unique and classy as she is. So, I sneakily reached out to Laura's sister, Sarah, to get her take on it. Sarah and I would email and text back and forth about different ideas for rings and the proposal. I even changed her name to "Tom" in my phone in case Laura got curious!

I finally bought the ring and hid it in a cigar humidor (the last place she'd look) for a couple weeks. I took a day off work to scout possible proposal locations. I smoothly suggested to Laura that we do a "day in DC" and take a half-day off work. We visited a couple museums on the National Mall, all the while with a diamond ring in my pocket. After calmly and naturally excusing myself while at the National Gallery of Art, I ducked into the restroom to call Laura's sister Sarah, who had flown in to surprise Laura after the proposal. With Sarah in place, I went back to Laura, and we walked down the front steps of the Gallery. I casually suggested that we walk to a little garden outside the museum, where I took her to an empty bench, got down on one knee, and asked her to marry me.

When she said yes, we hugged and were happy. Then I remembered that I probably ought to give her the ring! A couple minutes later, Sarah walked up to surprise Laura, which caused Laura to laugh and cry at the same time. Afterward, we walked to a nearby bar in DC, which is a meeting place for Seahawks fans and happens to be located on Indiana Avenue. One by one, Laura's friends showed up at the bar since I had told them it was a surprise birthday party for Laura, but they were all surprised to find out that it was actually an engagement party. Good thing she said yes!

Laura's Version:

As many of my girlfriends will tell you, I had given up hope that Tony was ever going to get it together and ask me! Then in the Summer, I noticed he was acting weird. Around the same time, my sister Sarah started to talk about how great "T" was (her nickname for him.) And if you know my sister, you know she hates most everyone - especially anyone I'm dating - so this was a shock. That was a major clue that something was up!

One day in August, Tony had a brilliant idea to have a "DC day" since I was sick on my birthday and we couldn't really celebrate properly. This did not thrill me - as anyone who has been to DC in the summer knows - it's super hot and humid, and it's filled with annoying tourists. So when he suggested this, I thought, "Great, you want me to sweat my a&& off walking around the Mall with a bunch of stupid tourists? Yay!" But being the sweet and loving girlfriend I am, I told him it was a fabulous idea!

The day turned out to be wonderful - even before he popped the question - we had lunch at a great restaurant I'd been wanting to try for a while, we visited some really great museums and art exhibits that I never have time to see, and it wasn't even that hot or humid!

When I had had my fill of art, I told Tony I was ready for a drink, and as we walked out of the museum, Tony suggested we go sit on a bench. "Why, are there drinks on the bench?!" I thought. But again, being the sweet and loving girlfriend I am, I went along with it. This is where he started REALLY acting weird and I realized what was happening. I started to have a mild panic attack and can't remember a single word he said. When he asked me to stand up after sitting on the bench and talking at me for a bit, my vision started to go blurry. [More sweet words I'm sure he was saying but don't remember.] When he started to get down on one knee, I started to FREAK OUT. I started shaking my head violently and repeating the word "no" over and over again. This is when he grabbed my hands, looked me in the eye, and said very calmly and sternly, "Laura, this is happening." It snapped me out of my freak out and at that moment I realized my fear of marriage was replaced by my desire to marry this man.

Tony sums up the rest nicely above. I cried a lot. The ring was seriously stunning. Sarah surprised me and I cried more. Then we went to my favorite Seahawks bar and enjoyed the surprise with our DC friends. It was perfect!