Guest Post: A Sweet Proposal

I'm so excited to share this story with you today. Because it's super sweet, and also because it came from my good friend Jess, who is one of my favorite people ever, as is her husband Rene. Hope you enjoy their sweet proposal story as much as I do.

There is one thing you must know before hearing this story. And that is that in the months prior to this engagement, our relationship consisted of one girl anxious to start her life with the guy she fell for two years earlier, and one guy who had fooled her into thinking that wouldn’t happen for at least a few more years. He convinced her that he wasn’t ready yet, all the while knowing they were, so that she would be completely surprised when he gave her the ring he’d already bought.

This story actually begins with another. One we began writing ourselves one ordinary day back at home. René said to Jess that they ought to write their own fairy tale. So we began telling our own epic love story of a knight and a mermaid. Just after their first meeting, our valiant knight was kidnapped by a band of pirates and then brainwashed to believe he’d always been one of them, leaving the memory of his mermaid as only a distant dream. Years later, after a life of prodigal pillaging and plundering, a series of providential events reunited the mermaid with her knight-turned-pirate. The knight then faked his own death to escape his would be life of piracy so that he could spend the rest of his days with the love of his life.

This tale had been told over the span of a few weeks, and began a while before we left for a family trip to Maui, Hawaii. It was on this trip that René told Jess he wanted to finish the story, which seemed appropriate and inconspicuous enough to her considering their surroundings. So on a day trip down the road to Hana, we stopped at a turnoff that led to the most picturesque, fairy-tale-like cove you could ever imagine. We spent the day exploring underground swimming holes, climbing lava rocks, and getting our feet wet along the black sand beach, all the while expanding on this story you’ve just been told.

We snuck past a “trail closed” sign and walked along our own secluded path, with turquoise waves crashing against the black lava rock formations along side us. As we explored, René concluded that the knight and the mermaid built a house on a cliff like the one on which we stood, half on land and half on the water, where they met and fell more in love every day for two years. Jess stopped at the end of the path, surveyed the spot, and said “Yes, this will do. I can make a home out of this.” As they paused to take in the view, René set down his backpack and pulled out a little blue box…

Half expecting to see a ring and shaking like a leaf already, Jess opened the box only to find two pieces of paper. They were notes written to her from René. He told her to turn around and read their contents aloud. She opened the first and read a few lines he wrote, taken from Proverbs 31:10-12

“You are excellent.

You are more precious than jewels.

You earn my trust.

You do me good – forever."

With tears already filling her eyes, Jess reached into the box, took out the second note, and read…

“This is where his and her life ended, and how their life began together.

The knight knew he couldn’t lose his mermaid. He also knew that she was what defined love. So he found her and said…."

He turned her to face him, got down on one knee (on sharp lava rocks mind you), held up a second small box with a sparkling blue stone inside, and asked her to marry him.

She said Yes.

The ring is an original design by Topazery.

Jessica also happens to be an incredible wedding photographer, so go check out her site.

Want to share your proposal story? Or wedding story? We'd love to hear them.

Sing along with us. Subscribe!