The Proposal

The Proposal Story

On November 29, 2020 my best friend said YES to making me the luckiest person ever by agreeing to spend her life with me! This post is all about our proposal in Houston! After research, planning, confusing texts/calls, and last minute ideas with her family, the proposal went amazing. I am beyond relieved with how it went given that she was very particular with how it happened, even before we were dating. In order to get a “yes” I was told:

1. Her nails needed to be done
2. It had to be a complete surprise
3. Her family needed to be near

Months before I even asked, she knew I had the ring. In order to meet her requests the best I could, I had to throw her off my tracks. As far as she knew, I might ask her to marry me at my brother’s wedding in Arizona (early November), during thanksgiving when we were with each other, or I would sneakily drive to Texas right after Christmas and surprise her. I did my best to keep all the options open and “accidently” hint at each of them. Her family was very helpful in keeping the proposal a secret as well. They took her to get her nails done, they helped throw her off my tracks (stressing to get shifts covered), and just make the whole day run smooth.

Weeks before the proposal I asked for her family to text me their availability. Many of them got their schedules the week before so I asked them to request off that Sunday. Both of her parents were off that day and it was normal (not suspicious). That morning, her twin sister acted like she got called in early (so she could leave early to be at the park in time for the proposal), her brother left for work right after we left to go downtown to explore. Her youngest sister acted like she was called off that morning so she and her boyfriend could go with us, and Kendall’s parents, downtown.

We left to go downtown soon after lunch. Because we wanted to/needed to make a trip out of it, we explored. Walking in city parks around Houston, seeing sights like Minute Maid Stadium, and looking around the numerous shops. Finally, when it was almost time for her sister/brother to secretly show up at the spot, we headed to the Galleria (a mall). It was the weekend after Thanksgiving so the mall was very crowded. Lots of lines of people waiting to get into stores (because of COVID-19). We exited the mall at the door closest to the Waterfall Park, not the one we came in, which was a little suspicious but she didn’t really think about it (phew!). As we walked, the huge wall came into sight and I had to act surprised, like what is that?!

That day, Kendall had brought her camera. When she found out that it was a waterfall, her instant reaction was to ask her sister and her sister’s boyfriend if they wanted to take pictures. While she was distracted taking pictures, I sneakily took the ring and its box and put them in my back pocket. She finished her mini photoshoot on the outside part of the park and her mom asked if we wanted our picture taken (setting up for the big moment)! We rounded the corner to see the inside of that huge wall. Some random dude was in his own little photoshoot with a phone, just taking his sweet time taking pictures. Once he finally finished, I sneakily handed my phone to her dad (Facetiming my parents), Her siblings were just outside of sight taking pictures and watching, and her mom was taking pictures. We posed as one normally does, a little bit of chatting and not really paying attention to the cameras. I asked her if she would be willing to spend the rest of her life with me (still standing) and she responds with something similar to (well DUH!) still not knowing what was going to happen. Right then, I got down on my knee and asked her to marry me!!!!! She said yes, started crying, people clapped, fireworks went off, it was amazing (maybe not the fireworks). But it really was amazing!!!!

Choosing The Location

As I wrote about earlier, there were some requests from Kendall when it came to the proposal. Because of that, I knew I wanted to pop the question in Houston where she lives with her family. Because I am from Indiana, I had to do some research and ask her sisters for ideas. I also wanted to come up with some backup places just in case.

I wanted the location to be somewhere in Houston that wouldn’t be too busy. A place where we would be able to step away from the big city, all the people, and all the noise. To just be in our own world for that moment. That is when I decided I wanted to propose at Gerald D. Hines Waterfall Park. 

The park is a public space that is very spacious and, from pictures, it looks peaceful and beautiful. It is public but read that it’s never really busy. It sounded perfect! Kendall’s parents were amazing helpers when it came to the proposal, they wanted to make it just as amazing and special as I did. They were willing to go out a week or so before to make sure the location would work during the day and night. Kendall’s mom also had the amazing idea to go to the mall just a block away so as we walk back to the car, we randomly come across the waterfall. Pure brilliance. 

Choosing The Ring

Kendall made choosing a ring fairly simple, She knew what she wanted, and made sure I knew (lots of ideas from Pinterest). I just needed to come up with where to get it!

I bought Kendall’s engagement ring and wedding band at a jewelry store named Shane Co.I didn’t know much about rings or diamonds so I talked to my cousin, who is a jeweler and diamontologist, to get the inside scoop. She gave me some information that I found very valuable as well as helpful!

When shopping for a diamond, its important to remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When buying diamonds, they are all graded based off clarity, color, cut, and carat weight. Prices for diamonds are based off of their rarity, not their beauty. It is important to ask to see other diamonds and remember at the end of the day, the diamond will be on your lady’s hand. Not under shimmer lights with a perfectly white background and people looking at the stone with a microscope. While looking, they may try to upsell you by showing you clearer or diamonds with less color. If that is what you want, great, but there is a price. But there are diamonds that will be graded as slightly worse, look just as beautiful to your eyes, and will be nicer to your wallet.

Some Cardinal Rules when buying Diamonds

• Never buy under jewelry store lighting conditions, insist on normal office lights (5,000 kelvin tubular fluorescent) or natural light. In my case I did have to ask for different light and we went to an area with no shimmer lights but lot of windows to compare diamonds
• Never buy a diamond you haven’t seen loose. To buy a diamond online, you don’t know how beautiful it is, you’re buying based on grade/rarity in that case. In person, you want to get a diamond that isn’t already in a ring so you can view it without anything adding or taking away from the stone. 
• Select based on eyes, not based on description. As I wrote earlier, the charts classify on rarity, not beauty

I was fortunate to have a jeweler help me who was willing to listen to my needs for all of those things as well as for my budget. I did have to be specific and ask and, at some points in my time there, really press for what I was going for (so I wasn’t upsold. I’m grateful Kendall wanted a simple ring). But he listened and I got out of the store with a ring that I am proud to give to my best friend!