Week 10: Pick the Perfect Proposal
April 5, 2010 | by Tia Ayers
Last week, Evelyn & Omar won our weekly contest. Will they win again? You decide!
Read the stories and vote below. Remember, you can vote once a day, so make sure you come back tomorrow to vote for your favorite couple!
1. Evelyn Protano & Omar Abdelhamid
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Date: February 13, 2010
Evelyn & Omar
Evelyn writes:
Omar and I got engaged the night before Valentine’s Day. For this story to make sense, you need to know that Omar and I have a thing with penguins, which started when he bought me a giant stuffed penguin when I was having a rough time at work. It’s been a running joke ever since.
Anyway, Omar said he didn’t want to wait to exchange gifts on Valentine’s Day, and suggested that we exchange gifts right then. Omar gave me three bags, one small, one medium, and one large. I opened the small bag, and it contained a set of penguin nesting dolls! In the middle of the first set of nesting dolls was a note that said, open bag number 2.
In the second bag, was another set of penguin nesting dolls! At the middle of this set, was a note that said open bag number 3. I opened the third and largest bag, and it contained two giant penguin nesting dolls! Inside the second nesting doll, was a black box with a beautiful ring. He proposed, and I said yes. 
2. Sara Jacobson & Sean McMullen
Location: New York, NY
Date: November 20, 2009
Sara & Sean
Sara writes:
I’m Sara Jacobson and I’m marrying Sean McMullen after a brief 21-year crush!
It started in 1989. I was attending middle school in West Hartford, CT where I became friends with a set of fraternal twins, Lauren & Erin. They invited me to their house one day and as soon as I walked into the living room, there he was sitting on the couch.
That was the beginning of my crush. Sean was much older than me, and never paid me any attention. What with him being in 10th grade while I was a lowly 7th grader, dating me would have been social suicide!
For years I would invite myself to Lauren and Erin’s for sleepovers, just to catch a glimpse of Sean. I would say in my most cheerful and flirty voice “Hi, Sean!” and he would act as if I wasn’t even in the room.
Years passed, and life took us down distant paths. But one fateful night, Thanksgiving time in 2008, I walked into a hometown bar and there, like an angel, was my “Seansy.”
I ran over to him and asked if he remembered me. He didn’t, but acted as if he did. Immediately we began a long-distance romance. He was in Boston, I was now in Miami…but thanks to facebook and text messaging we hardly went a day without contact.
In 2009, my company offered me a transfer to the NYC location. I wasn’t sure what this meant for Sean and me….but I knew I needed to be in the northeast. So I accepted the offer, and immediately Sean and I actively started dating. We spent weekends traveling back and forth from Boston to NYC. Sean, being a commercial lobsterman, spoiled me with boat rides and fresh lobster all the time.
On November 20th, Sean took me to my favorite park in NYC, Carl Schurz Park. We sat on a bench and watched the boats go by on the east river. He began acting weird and I got nervous. Then suddenly, he was down on one knee, asking me to spend the rest of my life with him. He presented me with the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. By January, he had quit his career, and moved to NYC, to begin our lives together.
Our wedding is going to take place on August 21, 2010 in Rhode Island. We couldn’t be happier.
3. Olivia & Kevin Masui
Location: Seal Beach, CA
Date: September 9, 2007
Olivia & Kevin
Olvia writes:
One Friday night, my boyfriend Kevin told me we were going to go to Las Brisas in Laguna Beach for lunch the next day and I knew something was up. You see, Las Brisas is the very first cafe Kevin and I ever went to and it’s totally romantic.
When Kevin suggested that we go to Las Brisas, I thought, “He thinks he’s so smooth! He’s going to propose to me and thinks I haven’t a clue!”
The next day, the restaurant was really crowded and Kevin said, “Oh, this is stupid. Let’s go to the beach.”
I innocently said, “Sure, that sounds fun,” as if I suspected nothing.
But the beach was super-crowded as well and Kevin said, “Hey let’s leave. There are too many people here.”
I tried to hide my disappointment as we left. After a few minutes in the car, I began crying. Kevin asked, “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t want to tell him, but finally I admitted that I thought he was going to propose. Sure enough, he started laughing at me.
“In time,” he said. “It will come in time.”
After dinner at his mom’s house that night, he said, “Let’s go to Seal Beach. It’s nearby and it’s really nice.”
I tried not to get my hopes up again. When we got there, it was dark and no one was around. I walked down to the water and he followed me.
We stood looking up at the stars. After a few minutes of standing there in silence, I figured that nothing was going to happen. I accepted the fact that this just wasn’t the right time and was a little sad.
Kevin said, “Liv, you really mean a lot to me.”
I looked at him and said, “You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me, Kev.”
He said, “Okay, here it goes…”
At that moment, Kevin dropped down to one knee in front of me. Holding out something in the darkness, he said “Will you marry me?”
I couldn’t tell if he was joking with me or not. I couldn’t see what was in his hand since it was so dark. I asked, “Are you being serious?”
Kevin started laughing and replied, “Yes! Will you be my wife?! Why do you think I’m down here with a ring?!”
I hesitated a moment, and then after I had realized that he wasn’t kidding, I dropped to my knees as well and began to cry.
“Kev, I would love to marry you!”
He slid the ring onto my finger. I could see its shimmer beneath the faint light of the night sky. It was beautiful.
Now that you’ve read the stories, it’s time to vote for your favorite! You can vote once a day until Friday at 12:05am. Results will be posted on Friday morning!
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