The Proposal

The beginning

It was a Saturday afternoon and I was having brunch with my best friend, Katherine. We went to Banc Cafe, a restaurant/bar in NYC. We were brunching away, talking about life. At the end, we asked for the bill. Once the waiter arrived with the bill, he also had two glasses of champagne and a gold envelope that said "Liliana Rodriguez". I looked at the envelope and immediately noticed Leo's small unique handwriting.

I open the envelope and it had a card that said something like "Hi Amor, hope you had a lovely brunch at Banc, the place of our first date." He wrote about the beginning stages of our relationship. Within the envelope there was also a photo collage. The photo collage was made up of the earliest photos we took when we first met.  He explains how I'm going to go through a Scavenger Hunt today consisting of different stages of our relationship and tells me "First things first, you must hand Katherine your cell phone and take multiple pictures for each stage". The card also had the next clue which read like this "You would always find me at the next location and simply quietly sit across from me and pass me these". In the envelope there were these small notes from me. For those who knew Leo in college, if he wasn't in class you probably knew where to find him... Baruch Library. Leo used to stay there until they closed, 12am. So when we started dating I used to go to the library and study as well. I would often sit across from him and pass him little notes since we were suppose to keep quiet in the library. He saved all these notes!!!

Baruch

Katherine and I walked over to Baruch College. Once we got there, we spoke to a women in the Baruch theater's box office window and asked if she had anything for a Liliana, she smiled and handed us a big bag. 

In the bag, there is another envelope that read "Open me first!". Here Leo starts talking about our "Baruch Stage", the trips we went on, the college partying etc.  There was also another photo collage of us during our college years. There were more goodies in the bag... I looked in and there was a scrapbook!!!  It had been started already and I was suppose to put the cards he wrote and collages he made for each stage in the scrapbook. Throughout the day I would continue to add to the scrapbook. This was amazing!! And you'd think that's all that was in the bag? Nope. There was a small balloon that said "Pop me!" For the next clue he wrote "The next stage wasn't as fun loving as the Baruch years, but luckily you were by my side and that made all the difference. Now pop that balloon!".  I popped the balloon and inside was his old J.P. Morgan business card... on to the "IB Stage".

Banking

Katherine and I were now off to the J.P. Morgan office. Luckily it was just a quick cab ride from Baruch. 

Here we walked up to the security guards and asked if they had something for a Liliana. One of the securities guards seemed quite confused. However, we spotted a gold envelope on the counter. (The security guard that Leo had given the card to had stepped away). Within the envelope there was a card that summarized all of our experiences during the "IB Stage" of our relationship, along with a photo collage and a second green envelope. The next clue read like this "JPM also led to the next stage of our relationship. One that was much more refreshing and possibly the highlight of our relationship to date. Check out the next clue! (It's in the green envelope)". I opened the small envelope and it was a San Francisco postcard. I flipped the postcard over and it said "Hi Amor, no we're not flying to San Francisco this afternoon, that would be intense. Instead, you'll go to a bar that sells our favorite SF drink".

San Francisco

Did anyone say wine bar? During our San Francisco days we developed a passion for wine.  At the next stop, we asked the hostess if there was anything for a Liliana.

New York 

Greatest park in NYC? Central Park it is. Katherine and I walk into Central Park via one of the entrances on 59th street. Once we stepped in we see Maxi, Leo's sister. She is blocking the walkway to a gazebo. I start walking up the path and notice Leo had written on it with chalk: "Thanks Katherine", "Lili this way", etc.

As I walk up to the gazebo I notice someone taking pictures, I do a double take and it's Lucy, one of Leo's best friends. As I get closer to the gazebo, I see Leo!!! I get up to the top, Leo is waiting for me and then he asks me to marry him!!!! I said YES!! Happiest moment ever!!

To top it off, there were flowers, champagne and a basket of fruits and goodies waiting for us. He said I thought you would like to celebrate a little. We thanked Katherine, Maxi and Lucy and stayed in Central Park enjoying the snacks. 

And if you think the day ended there... Those who know me know I'm really close to my family. So I asked Leo "Did you tell my family?" He said "Oh, no I didn't. I wanted it to be a surprise and they knew it was coming either way". I was like "ohhh, so can I call them?" He was like "You know I really want this day to be about us. If you call one person, then you have to call another person and another person, and plus I made dinner reservations for us." He had a point, if I called one person it wouldn't stop there, so I said ok.

We arrive at the restaurant, it is pretty full, Leo checks in under Leo Party of Two. I tell him again, I really want to tell my family. He says "Fine, call them once we get seated". We go upstairs to get seated. In the back there is a private room which I notice has all his and my family waiting for us!! A surprise Engagement Dinner!! We celebrated with our family and spoke about the day's events. (No one knew about the engagement scavenger hunt details other than Katherine, Maxi, and Lucy, so there was lots to share and a scrapbook to see). The perfect ending to the perfect day.