Brie and Rich

Posted Tuesday, September 02, 2008 11:12 AM

Our Trip to Canada

My fiance, Rich, and I had been dating for almost three years when we decided to take a trip together. He grew up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, until his parents moved to Florida when he was 10, and we'd always talked about taking a vacation there to visit his family and see the sights. So in July, we flew up to Canada for a week and a half of fun and togetherness. We spent our first night in Calgary and then headed out to the next stop on our trip. After an hour drive spent munching ketchup-flavored potato chips, admiring the gorgeous scenery, and listening to Elvis, we arrived at the resort mountain town of Banff.

Horseback and Gondola Rides

Before we even checked into our hotel, we were off exploring. Rich and I found a local stable that offered horseback rides through the mountains, and since he knew how much I love riding, he immediately got us on the first trip out. We spent about an hour winding along mountain and riverside trails and wading through the marshes, enjoying the fresh mountain air and wonderful views. After the trail ride, Rich decided to treat me to another type of ride, the Banff Gondola. We rode the bucket-like lift to the top of Sulphur Mountain and were treated to an incredible 360-degree panorama of the Canadian Rockies. We would’ve stayed longer to enjoy the scenery, but the mosquitoes were out in force and eating poor Rich alive, so we decided to go check into our hotel.

The Surprise

Rich didn’t tell me which hotel he had booked before we left for our trip. While researching hotels in the area, we had looked at this amazing luxury hotel, the Fairmont Banff Springs, but it was too expensive for us. So imagine my surprise when we pulled up to the Fairmont, where Rich said we’d be staying for two nights! The hotel was lavishly designed and decorated in the style of an old Scottish castle, and our room was incredible, complete with breathtaking views of the mountains. After dropping our bags off and exploring for a bit, Rich mentioned the waterfall behind the hotel. When he and I had gone on previous trips, we’d sent videos of us waving in front of a landmark or nice bit of scenery to my parents, so he suggested heading out to the falls to make our video. When we got there, we took pictures and shot a video from the bottom of the waterfall and then headed up the trail next to it to get to the top.

The Proposal

The view from the top of the falls was great, but we noticed that the view of our hotel rising up from the trees behind us was even better. So Rich set up the video camera to capture us and then, after joining me, told me to wave at the camera. After a few seconds of smiling and waving, I went to lean against him and felt him move away from me. It took me forever to realize that he was getting down on one knee to propose! I was so shocked that the first thing to pop out of my mouth was: “Are you kidding me?? That’s so not funny!” And then the tears started. He told me how much he loved me and how he wanted to bring me to the most beautiful place he could think of to propose. When he pulled out and opened the ring box and asked me to marry him, I lost it. All I could do was nod yes while crying and smiling. It was the most amazing proposal I could’ve ever imagined, and better yet, he was able to get it on tape!

Watch It Here:

Here’s the link to the video I made about our trip that has his actual proposal! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyrq1bwIEUI