Hayley and Nate

Posted Monday, July 06, 2009 3:31 PM

As told by the groom:

It took a good deal of planning in order to pull off the proposal. It all began several weeks earlier when I picked up the ring. I was getting over a cold, so Hayley went shopping with her mother while I napped on the couch. As soon as she was gone, I ran over to the jewelry store and picked up the ring. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret for too long, so I immediately began putting the plan into action.

However, I wanted to make sure and get Hayley's parents' blessing. The Wednesday after I picked the ring up was a test day at CVCC, so I was able to get out of class much earlier than usual. I texted Hayley and told her that I had to run into work for a few minutes because of some issues with the mainframe so that she wouldn't be too suspicious if I didn't get home for a little while. With that taken care of, I went over to her parents' house. Luckily, her mom, dad, and sister were all at home when I arrived. I made a little bit of small talk (though I can't remember about what) and finally asked them if they’d give me their blessing to ask for Hayley's hand in marriage. They were all really excited, so I showed them the ring and talked to them for a little while before heading home.

My plan called for several things. First, I wanted to propose at the Riverwalk in downtown Columbus. Second, I wanted to have her family and close friends waiting for us to a restaurant for dinner after I proposed. Knowing that I'm not the best at coordinating things most of the time, I enlisted a friend’s help in getting in touch with everyone. She agreed to help and, within a few days, everyone was in the loop.

The date that I had decided to propose on also was the Friday following my one-year anniversary at TSYS, so I told Hayley that my boss was taking the group out to celebrate my anniversary. This way, she wouldn't book something else for that afternoon. I also told her that I had a meeting that day so that she wouldn't think anything of it when I dressed up in a suit and tie. On the day of the proposal, I texted Hayley and told her that the teleconference room at TSYS was busted and that we were going to make use of the one at the Space Science Center. Also, I told her that since the meeting would take until 6-ish, she should just meet up with me and we’d go out with the group from there.

At 5:30, with my plan set in motion and my workday over, I headed down to the Riverwalk. Even though I was pretty sure she’d say "yes," I was still extremely nervous. In fact, I'm pretty sure I smoked close to a full pack of cigarettes in that one-hour period of waiting. When Hayley arrived, I told her that the rest of the group was inside finishing up the meeting, so we started to walk around. I led her to the white gazebo close to the Space Science Center, stopped, and took her hands in mine. I was still extremely nervous, but I told her how much she means to me and how I couldn't imagine my life without her. I got down on one knee, pulled the ring out of my pocket, and asked her to marry me.

Afterward, we met up with everyone at the restaurant. We had an awesome dinner and took a number of photos, and then later went downtown with everyone. Looking back, I think it was one of the happiest days of my life.

As told by the bride:

Nate and I had been talking about getting married for what felt like forever…so in my head, it was never a matter of “if,” just “when.” And once we found the ring, I knew he was looking to buy it, but he was very good at keeping it a secret whether he had it or not. I never suspected anything.

On a Wednesday, Nate told me that his boss wanted to take us to dinner on Friday, because it was his one-year anniversary at his company. So I said okay, thinking nothing. I got up Friday morning and got dressed in gray pants and a black top because I was leaving straight from work for dinner. I got a text message from Nate that a meeting he had that afternoon was moved from his work to the Space Science Center because their teleconferencing equipment was broken, and to text him when I was leaving work. So I got to my car and texted him, and he said the meeting ran long and to meet him downtown at the center.
 
I drove there, and he was outside having a cigarette. I got out of my car, asking where the other guys were…and he said they were still inside finishing up. We start walking around and talking and then we stopped by a gazebo on the Riverwalk. And he tells me, “I might have lied to you about something.” I asked, “What?” He said, “There’s no one inside.” I asked, “Why?” (yes, I still had NO clue) and then he took both my hands in his….and the whole world screeched to a halt. All I kept thinking, and apparently saying, was “Oh my God!” He asked me to be his wife, and of course I said yes! Then I spent the next 10 minutes jumping around all jittery and excited. We drove to our apartment, and he gave me the wedding planner he bought. We went to Carraba’s, and I had to walk in with my eyes closed…and my three best friends, my parents, my sister, and two of my best friends from work were there! We had dinner and went out to celebrate; the girls even got me flowers and a cake. It was the best night EVER.