How To Make Your Girlfriend Cry
On June 11th of 2016, after many months of stress and anxiety, I proposed to my girlfriend Kristina. It took a ton of planning and even a little decieving, but it ultimately paid off in the end. My girlfriend got a truly meaningful proposal, and our family and friends were involved in something that they will cherish and talk about for years to come. I think all major moments in life should include a experience and a lasting impression such as this.
While planning and implementing this proposal, I never imagined it would turn into such a spectacle for the world. I turned the entire production into a twenty minute video and posted it on Youtube. My intention was just to show our close family and friends exactly how the day unfolded. About four months later, the video went absolutely viral (twice so far). Currently the video has reached over four million views! My fiancée and I have received and overwhelming amount of pleasant messages and comments from people all over the globe. It has been a truly amazing experience and I am so happy that I was able to provide something that touched so many.
Since there has been a lot of incorrect information written by many blogs and websites out there, I would like to provide a little story of the day to go along with the video. However, I think the obvious best person to tell it would be my new fiancée.
A Day to Remember
It all started on a bright summer day In June of 2016. Matt and I had plans to meets some friends at a winery in Napa Valley for, what I was led to believe, was a friend’s Birthday celebration. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed since, on the following day, we had plans to take a trip around Europe for a couple weeks. We finished some last minute packing and headed on our way. On our hour and a half drive to Napa, we talked about many things including, ironically, the possibility of getting engaged in the near future. Matt showed signs of stress and explained to me that funds were really tight and that he intended to start saving soon. Let’s just say that his acting skills were exceptional on this day!
As we entered Napa Valley, we headed to Kuleto Winery to meet the rest of the group. I was very excited to go back to this winery since this was where Matt and I first fell in love five years prior. I didn’t find this suspicious considering I was the one whom suggested to the Birthday girl that we go there! We entered the tasting room and were greeted by Matt’s twin brother and two of our other friends. Matt received a fake phone call from the Birthday girl stating that she had just arrived and needed some help carrying some things. After Matt left to go meet her, the estate manager brought out an iPad and said they would be playing a short video about the winery while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive.
The video played for a couple minutes when all of a sudden, Matt came on the screen. I was shocked and confused at first. He explained that I wasn’t at the winery for the reason I thought and that there were some things that I needed to see before truly understanding the reason. The video then turned into a completely different kind of video.
First, Matt traveled to New York, my home state, for what I had thought was a “boys” trip. He made his way up state to where I was born and raised. Just to be clear, Matt never got the chance to meet my father. He passed away from cancer before we met. However, I tell him all the time how much my dad would have loved him and how badly I wish they could have met. Knowing how important my father was to me, Matt flew across the country to visit him in New York. I watched through tear filled eyes as he placed my favorite flowers on his grave and told him how much he loved me and promised to take care of me for the rest of his life. At this point, I was crying so much that I could barely see the screen!
Next, Matt got back on a plane and headed to his next destination and another familiar place, Florida. Matt plotted with a cousin of mine to trick my mother into thinking that she would be the one coming to visit. Instead, Matt showed up along with a completely unexpected objective! After a pleasant surprise, he respectfully asked my mom for my hand in marriage. Watching Matt ask was so moving. After getting over the shock, she happily told him yes and welcomed him into our family.
Lastly, Matt, yet again, got back on another plane and headed to one final location. But before doing so, he explained on the video that he had something made especially for me. However, he said that he needed to have someone explain the meaning behind part of it. After landing in Las Vegas, Matt’s hometown and the place where we met, he sat down with his grandmother to talk about her stunning 1935 diamond. I was overrun with emotion as Nan explained how long it has been a part of the family and how she hoped I would find as much joy out of it as all of the other wonderful women before me did.
Finally, Matt reappeared on the screen. He reminisced on the history of our love and reminded me about the significance of the winery we were currently at. I was instructed to walk outside. As I made my way down a long path through the beautiful estate grounds, I could finally see Matt in the distance. He was dressed in a specially tailored sports coat that I had purchased for him a year ago. I always loved this jacket, but it was originally too big for
him and I never got the chance to see him wear it. He had it specially tailored for this day. As I closed in on him, I was hit with yet another surprise. Family and friends from around the country had been flown out to witness this special day. I couldn’t help but to practically run into his arms! With one of the best views of Napa Valley in the background, Matt asked me something that made me the luckiest girl in the world.
The following day, we headed to Europe. The trip was even better than expected due to the recent life changing surprise. We were able to celebrate and reflect back on the long road leading up to the proposal. It became clear to me just how intricate and expansive this proposal really was. From ring shopping and customization, to flying around the country visiting family and creating a movie about it, to renting a winery and getting the staff to contribute, to planning flights and hotels for family and friends from all around the country and getting them to keep the secret, to planning a fake Napa Valley Birthday gathering with friends (this even involved a fake group Facebook invite with many weeks of everyone commenting!), to tailoring my favorite sports coat to wear for the big question, and to planning and implementing a secret engagement party back at our house post-proposal. All of this in addition to planning our amazing European getaway. After learning about the eleven or so months of plotting and planning, it was clear just how much effort and thought went into this day. When all is said and done, isn’t that all any girl could possibly ask for?
Be sure to also check out my other post about Amore Abroad, a video of our European getaway following the proposal. Enjoy!
