The Engagement (as told by Michael)
It all started will small gifts to start off the week. Flowers to Claudia’s work on Monday; Earrings she wanted on Tuesday; A picture frame with some of our Instagram photos on Wednesday; and first class tickets for our flight to Puerto Rico on Thursday.
We spent the first day relaxing on the beach by the hotel. After we came in from the beach, I told Claudia that I had planned a sailing trip for us. I knew she loved to sail, so it was no surprise at how excited she became with that news. As we were walking to the lobby of the hotel to get a cab, the sky clouded over and it started to pour on us! I was in shock and instantly started to panic. I was texting with sailing captain and was told there was no way we were going to sail on Friday. I had other things planned for the proposal, so it wasn’t an option to cancel or postpone just one part of night. While sweating on the inside, I had to remain perfectly calm on the outside so I didn’t give away any surprises. I was able to push back everything I had planned by one day to Saturday. Knowing that, we were able to get last minute diner reservations at Santaella and enjoy the rest of the night.
We had planned to go to the El Yunque rainforest Saturday morning, so that remained on the schedule and didn’t interfere with any of my plans. I made sure that we left our phones in the hotel room, so that there wouldn’t be any early congratulations from the few family and friends that knew what was going on that weekend. After a great time at the rainforest, we came back to change and try to go sailing again. The sky was still cloudy but we decided to go a little early to beat any rain that was in the area. We took a taxi and got dropped off at the pier with Captain Judith standing there waving us to the dock. After a brief orientation, we were asked if we wanted a drink by the first mate “Would you care for some wine, champagne, soda, water….” And of could I knew Claudia would want champagne. So the first mate pulls out a chilled bottle of Claudia’s favorite champagne Veuve Clicquot. She asked if I planned that, which I did, and I just smiled back at her.
As we left the dock, the captain asked if I wanted to pilot the boat! I said of course I would since we were in pretty open water, so the risk of running into anything was slim. While I was at the wheel, I asked Claudia to come stand with me. When she did, I told her:
“Claudia, you were right to be a little suspicious of the little gifts this week, they were in fact leading up to a big surprise today. I have loved you from the beginning and I promise to take care of you for the rest of my life. I love you so much. Claudia Reynoso, will you marry me?!”
Her face was in shock as I showed her the perfect ring that I snuck aboard the boat in my camera bag. She said yes, and gave me a big kiss! For the rest of the two hour boat ride, we couldn’t help but smile at each other. We ended up with perfect weather, great sites of the San Juan bay, and we even saw dauphins. The night did not stop there though. I had arranged a towncar to come pick us up and take us back to the hotel for us to change for a dinner reservation at Marmalade in Old San Juan. At dinner we were at a corner table with rose petals and candles on the table. And besides a great 6 course meal, we also shared a bottle of “our wine” the Heitz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. When we were done with dinner, the car took us back to the hotel where I had another bottle of Veuve Clicquot and chocolate strawberries waiting for us in the room. As if that wasn’t enough, the last surprise I had planned for the day was a packet of letters written by our closest friends and family congratulating us on the engagement. Since we traveled for the proposal, it was a way I could keep our family and friends close and celebrate with us even though we were far away.
We had such a great trip to Puerto Rico, which was where Claudia was born, and the reason that I chose it to be the place where I proposed. We saw many sites, ate great food, and even got to see her godfather on the trip. It was a trip we will never forget, and adds to our fairytale story!