The Proposal

Chris here. What's a wedding website without the story of the proposal? Well, at least one side of the story...

The day was Saturday, November 8, 2014. It also happened to be my 24th birthday. Waking up, I knew my Facebook and phone would be blowing up with celebratory well wishes. On my birthday I normally feel rather giddy, but that morning I woke up after not having slept great and wondered what was wrong with me. "Why am I feeling so anxious?" I asked myself.

It's not really until one is staring a lifelong commitment in the face that he realizes just how his actions a few hours later will direct the rest of his life. Sure, in the abstract, dreaming about getting engaged (maybe?), getting married (maybe?), raising kids (maybe?) is exciting, but when one really stops to think about it, it's actually down right terrifying.

About a week earlier I had asked Marie if she would like to go up north to Manistee National Forest, a place I had once visited as part of a final exam for a P.E. course at Calvin. I hoped that if I ever got engaged it would happen there. I knew the landscape was beautiful, the trees were, well, trees, the river was clear, the air was crisp, and there is a suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the river.

We started our morning eating gluten-free pumpkin pancakes from Trader Joe's and giving/opening presents. Then we hopped in the car, drove north for a little over an hour and a half, and arrived at the forest. We parked the car and started on the North Country Trail.

After hiking for about half an hour, I was a little discouraged that I couldn't find the suspension bridge that was so clear in my memory and the place where I wanted to propose. You can imagine my anxiety; after all, if we didn't find it, I would have to come up with an alternative plan, which wasn't going to be as good.

Searching fruitlessly for it, we stopped and had lunch on a giant tree stump. Marie asked me what were the top 5 things that happened to me as a 23-year-old. I can't really remember what I said, but I remember that the number 1 thing was making it through a whole year with her. Little did she know I was planning to promise to commit to her for longer than that.

Filled with nourishment and frustrated that we couldn't find the bridge, I suggested that we head back the way we came. We arrived back at the location where we had parked the car and then continued farther eastward. Finally we found the bridge and all was right with the world. I wasn't ready to propose just yet, though, so we started hiking the Manistee River Trail.

 

We hiked for about an hour and a half and then turned around. I was pretty silent the entire way back. After all, I was contemplating how simply asking the question, "Will you marry me?" was going to change everything. Thankfully I don't think Marie even noticed how quiet I was.

We reached the bridge, and I suggested we take a break before trekking the last half-mile back. I took off my backpack, and she asked if we wanted to take a picture on the bridge. Knowing what I was about to do, I told her yes, but I wanted to play a game first. She thought we were going to race sticks under the bridge, but I told her it was a game she hadn't probably played before. I asked her to close her eyes and put out her hand, got down on one knee, told her to open her eyes, and asked, "Will you marry me?"

Her first response was, "Are you serious?" I said yes, and we both started to cry. And the rest, my friends, is history...