I knew I would marry Laura from the moment we met during our 4-hour-long first date. She was very sweet, intelligent, and a little shy. I've never resonated with someone so effortlessly before. Fast forward a few months, and I decided how I would propose. An opportunity arose, and we were going to do family photos. This would be a great time to sneak in a proposal before we begin taking pictures. It was a small, intimate setting with family and a little last-minute rain mixed in. I had been looking forward to this day for a couple of weeks, and there was no way I would let rain stop me at this point; I was too nervous to reschedule.

Her mother, Irma, and I had coordinated the purchasing of the ring about a month prior. This needed some creative planning to meet at the jeweler without Laura knowing. We devised excuses to tell Laura, and we left at different times so she wouldn't suspect anything. We arrived at the same jeweler who had designed Irma's ring, as it was a dream for Laura to have the same jeweler design her ring that designed her mother's ring. We planned every detail for the ring with the jeweler and left. The ball was now in motion. A Few weeks later, I picked it up and was blown away by how beautiful and sparkly it looked under the bright lights. The center diamond, her mother's diamond, made it more special.

The proposal planning consisted of many chats and phone calls when Laura was distracted so she would not suspect when it was happening. We had to figure out how I would carry the ring on the day of the proposal. Irma held onto it in her purse, and at the very last moment, she handed the ring over to me, low and out of sight. I faced Laura with the trees, the lake behind us, and the light rain around us. I began to tell her how much I loved her, and she knew immediately what was happening. Laura started balling with joy, and I had tears of joy running down my cheeks. I dropped to one knee and asked if she would marry me, and she said yes! As they say, the rest is history, and we are excited to celebrate with all our loved ones and to see what life has in store for us.