On Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at approximately 10pm Andrés proposed and I said "Yes!" Or rather "¡Sí!" Here's how it all went down. First of all, it was very non-traditional and traditional all at the same time. The non-traditional part is that I knew it was coming. We picked out, ordered and paid for the rings together and I knew he was going to propose pretty much right away. Everything else followed a mix of American and Chilean tradtion and I loved that. What can I say? I'm a traditional type of girl.
Andrés and I started looking at engagement rings the first month I arrived in Chile but it wasn't until January that we settled on something. And actually we decided to forego the engagement ring and follow a South American tradition instead. We bought our bands which will double as both our engagement and wedding rings. During the engagement period we wear them on our right hands and then when we get married they will be switched to our left hands. We ordered them the last week of January and they were supposed to come in the 31st, but were a day late. February 1st came and on the way to pick them up (they were late again and we had to wait around a couple of hours) Andrés warned me not to get my hopes up that we would get engaged that day because he still wanted to call my parents first.
So we went home after picking up the rings and I got on Skype right away, trying to locate my parents. Andrés wanted to talk to them together but my mom was heading to a poker game with her brothers (that's right, my mom is that cool) so I made him talk to them separately. He told me I was being Bridezilla before we were even engaged! I didn't hear what they said to him, but when he asked for their permission they both gave their approval.
February 2nd, our 2.5 year anniversary. Andrés had asked me a few weeks before what I might like the proposal to be like. I told him that I wanted it to take place somewhere special to us outside of the house and that he could speak in whichever language he wanted to, but that at least a little part of it was Spanish. I gave him some ideas- the church, the beach, a café, etc. Honestly though, I knew that however and wherever he asked me, I would love it. On Thursday we ended up going to almost all of the places I suggested. He was messing with me! Actually, he was thinking about doing it at those places but then something would come up or there would be construction nearby and so the place at that moment was not perfect enough for him. What a thoughtful guy.
We went to a neat café for lunch, then to a couple of lookouts over the ocean, and also to the beach that evening. None of these were the places. When we left for home after the beach, Andrés did not take me home. Instead we went to a lookout (mirador) over the ocean in Concón. We got out of the car and sat on a bench and talked for a couple of minutes. Then he asked me if I was ready to get engaged... and I was like "heck, yes!" So he sat me down and then he got on his knees and took my hands in his. He asked me a few questions. Do you want to be happy with me the rest of your life? Do you want to start a family and have lots of kids with me? Do you want to go through all of the ups and downs of life with me? And finally, Do you want to be my wife? He asked me in English and I answered with a "¡Sí!" to every question. Then he took the ring and put it on the ring finger of my right hand. Then I took his ring out of his hand and asked him some similar questions, ending with ¿Quieres casarte conmigo? (Do you want to marry me?), and he said yes as I put the ring on his finger. It was perfect, wonderful, joyful.
Then he remembered (or I reminded him, wink wink) of me wanting to be asked in Spanish and he did it all over for me. He actually thought he had been speaking in Spanish the whole time! I love this man. And that's how we came to be engaged.
On March 5th I will be moving home to live with my family and plan the wedding. We will be celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony in early August 2012 in Minnesota. We are happy and so content with life. Thank you so much for sharing with us in our happiness. Contento, Señor, contento!
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| So happy on the night of the engagement. This is after going to tell his best friend Carol, who was so excited for us. |
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| The inside of our rings are inscribed. Andrés says God is Love and mine says the same in Spanish, Dios es Amor. |
