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So here is my version of the proposal story.

1. The Rings heard round the world

Last summer was a busy summer with weddings. Two of Kristin’s best friends got married last fall, which kicked off the “When are we getting married?!?” discussion. Once their weddings were over, the pressure was starting to mount. I was able to stall somewhat by saying that I had to save up some money first, and pay off some of my car loan. This was a stalling tactic at best, which gave me only a couple months. Kristin has very little patience, and has been known to jump up and down in a cute but ineffective tantrum-esque fashion when she really wants something. I had done some initial investigation about getting a ring by the end of the year, however I was unsure what Kristin liked for a ring style.

2. The One Ring

After discussing with Kristin what she would like in a ring, it became quite clear that I was unable to pick out something suitable on my own. I had looked on the internet a few times at various designs, and I favoured a solitaire diamond, in a modern setting such as this one. Kristin preferred something with multiple stones, and more of an antique setting. Since this was the case, I agreed to go ring shopping with her to see if we could find something she liked. This proved to be a daunting task. She tried on many rings and to my dismay she didn’t find any she liked. Finally, she found something at a custom jeweler which she liked and she was able to tell the jeweler the design features of the band she wanted. Once she left, I was able to discuss the stones which would go on the ring. Since she was present when I ordered the ring, she knew a ring was coming, although she didn’t know how long it would take. This would be a mistake.

3. The Lead Up.

As I mentioned earlier, Kristin lacks patience. So for the weeks following the ordering of the ring, she would ask if it was ready yet. Since I intended to surprise her with the actual proposal, this was knowledge I was unable to divuldge. I hadn’t asked Robin when he would be done the ring, I didn’t really have an idea either. However, this did not stop me from giving Kristin a different answer each time she asked. From her perspective, the ring was already ready, or it was going to take a couple months to complete. I also claimed that it takes time to find really really cheap diamonds. Meanwhile, I was starting to think about romantic ways to propose to Kristin. I had already thought of some situations, however lack of ring made them impossible. The next opportunity on my mind was the weekend that Kristin’s boss Mike gave us the condo. Hopefully the ring would be done by then. Luckily, I did get a call on the 15th of May, stating that the ring was ready and I made arrangements to pick it up. I had it in my hands on the 18th of May, just in time for the may 24 weekend. During the weekend, I happened to notice that Blue Rodeo was playing at Orangeville on the same weekend we were due to go to Blue Mountain. Kristin loves Blue Rodeo, and has always wanted to see them in concert. The nucleus of a plan started to form…

The only obstacle left was to ask her dad if he approved. That was done by sneaking out for a walk the wednesday before our trip, and phoning him at home to ask if we could get together. We managed to get together on the Thursday for lunch, and he gave his approval.

4. The best laid plans….

The plan had been formed. I would surprise Kristin with tickets to Blue Rodeo on the way to Collingwood, and while at the concert I would pop the question. However, even the best laid plans can go wrong. On the big day, we had both booked off the Friday, so we could get to Collingwood in decent time. My dilemma was that I need to stall our departure so that we would arrive in Orangeville shortly before the concert. It would suck to drive to Collingwood, just to turn around and come back to Orangeville. However, Kristin was unwittingly able to solve this problem for me. She went into work until noon that day, then did some errands. She had delayed our departure until mid afternoon which was perfect timing. Normally I would have been grumpy at this delay, which should have been her first clue something was afoot. Since she has been so accomodating before, she had to throw a wrench in the plans as we were leaving town. She pulled directions out, and started to indicate the route we were to go. However, these directions had us going nowhere near Orangeville. Since we had to make it to Orangeville, I hastily said there was a store I wanted to go to Orangeville. Kristin asked a while later, which store I wanted to visit. I paused, not having thought through the details of this excuse. She helpfully said “Is it a gun store?”. I jumped on the excuse quickly, which was a dead giveaway. She didn’t ask anything else about it, but she was suspicious. After a quick dinner in Orangeville, I asked her if she wanted to know where we were really going. She said yes, and I produced the Blue Rodeo tickets from my wallet to her great surprise.

5. The Proposal

Once we got into the Blue Rodeo concert, we found a seat in a set of bleachers. Not the most romantic location, but better for the back until Blue Rodeo started playing. A bunch of older people sat in the stands with us, and we talked with them a bit before the concert. The opening band 52 Pick Up, was quite good and warmed the crowd up. After they left the stage, there was a long delay during the setup for the next band, which most people thought would be Blue Rodeo. Unfortunately, this was not the case, it was a band that wasn’t that good. By this time, I was getting quite nervous, and anxious, constantly checking to make sure the ring was still in my pocket, and trying to stretch my back at the same time. It was during one of the songs of the band, the line “I don’t need a diamond ring” was heard. Kristin, loving to bug me about getting her ring, turns and hits me, and says “I do!”. Before I knew what I was doign, I had caught her hand after she smacked me, kissed her hand, and produced the ring. I nervously asked if she would marry me by shouting in her ear over the band, and presented the ring. Her less than romantic response was “What? Now? Really?”. I was starting to doubt if she was going to say yes when she presented her finger for the ring. I started to put on the ring, and wasn’t sure if it wasn’t going to fit but it did. She of course said yes, after the intial excitement wore off, and the rest has been a blur.