How @lukestokes Proposed to Me - A True Story of Romance

Luke proposed to me after four weeks (yes weeks) of dating. We knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, so why wait?

Let me give a quick background first. We met through work and worked on a big project one-on-one. Over the course of a year and nine months, we got to know each other really well. We became best friends and developed deep feelings for one another. By the time we started dating, we already felt like this was it. Our forever.

Yet, his proposal was still a surprise. Not the proposal itself (I was waiting for it, after all), but the timing. He was sneaky!

About two and a half weeks into dating, we talked about marriage. I was the one to bring it up, actually. I didn’t want to be the girl pressuring the guy to get married, so I hesitated to bring it up, especially so soon…..so I went very round about to gently raise the issue. He immediately said something to the effect of “Yes I want us to get married!” Hurray! Me too.

But…a few days later, we had another conversation. The I-don’t-have-any-money-for-a-ring conversation, so it might be awhile. Argh! Why should money hold us back? So my hopes for a quick engagement were dashed and I accepted that we needed to wait a bit. Sigh.

A week later, it was my birthday. Well, my birthday fell mid-week, so Luke suggested we celebrate early on the weekend. He kept the plans for the evening a surprise. He suggested I wear the dress I wore on our first date.

When he picked me up, he brought me irises. One of my favorite flowers. He arrived in a nice BMW, a car he had borrowed for the evening. (His car at the time was a 19-year-old clunker.) Still didn’t tell me where we were going.

He took me down to Newport Harbor, to Lido Sailing Club. We had been there before to go sailing with his older brother (Luke's family had all worked at the club and therefore had access to the boats), so I recognized it when we pulled into the parking lot. We got out of the car, and he opened the trunk to pull out a cooler. He gave no explanation for the cooler.

We got into an electric boat and cruised around in the harbor enjoying the sights. Then he pulled the boat up to a dock. Turns out it was a fancy restaurant on the water with their own boat dock.

The food was amazing. Filet mignon. At the time, we both had no money, so this was especially extravagant. I kept thinking how this would be perfect for a proposal, but we had just talked about how he didn’t have money for a ring so I knew that was out of the question. This was just for my birthday. I was quite impressed at the lengths he had gone to for my birthday celebration, though, and kept wondering what in the world I was going to do for his birthday (two months later) after he did all this for mine.

After we ate, we got back in the boat and spent more time cruising around in the harbor. We were going through little waterways with houses on each side and eventually came to a place where we had to turn the boat around. Luke had his cell phone in his hand and it looked like he was texting someone but he was trying to do it without me noticing.

Then there was a big splash in the water right next to our boat. I was surprised, of course, but Luke got up nonchalantly and reached over the side of the boat to pull a fancy bottle out of the water. He grabbed a towel and dried it off and casually said something like, “Looks like there’s a note in the bottle. Why don’t you open it?” (Here's the actual bottle:)

At that point, I knew something was up. This was way too much just for my birthday. I tried to contain my excitement, but I was so happy I could hardly concentrate on reading the note. I knew he was going to propose. Here’s a pic of the note (which now hangs framed in our bedroom):

When I finished reading, I looked up at him and he began to sing. Not just any song, but a song that I had told him about when we first started dating. A song that had been a hit over the summer before we were dating and just kept making me think of him every time I heard it. It’s by Daniel Bedingfield and it’s called “If You’re Not the One.”

Here are the lyrics, since they’re an important part of the story:

If you're not the one then why does my soul feel glad today?

If you're not the one then why does my hand fit yours this way?

If you are not mine then why does your heart return my call?

If you are not mine would I have the strength to stand at all?

I never know what the future brings,

But I know you are here with me now,

We'll make it through,

And I hope you are the one I share my life with

I don't want to run away but I can't take it, I don't understand,

If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am?

Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

If I don't need you then why am I crying on my bed?

If I don't need you then why does your name resound in my head?

If you're not for me then why does this distance maim my life?

If you're not for me then why do I dream of you as my wife?

I don't know why you're so far away,

But I know that this much is true,

We'll make it through,

And I hope you are the one I share my life with,

And I wish that you could be the one I die with,

And I pray in you're the one I build my home with,

I hope I love you all my life

I don't want to run away but I can't take it, I don't understand,

If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am?

Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

'Cause I miss you body and soul so strong that it takes my breath away,

And I breathe you into my heart and pray for the strength to stand today,

'Cause I love you, whether it's wrong or right,

And though I can't be with you tonight,

You know my heart is by your side

I don't want to run away but I can't take it, I don't understand,

If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am?

Is there any way I can stay in your arms?

So he struggled his way through the song, changing keys several times since the range on this song is ridiculous and he was super nervous. But it was so beautiful and I was so happy and I couldn’t believe he was SINGING to me and he chose THAT song. I relished every moment.

The last line of the song is, “Is there any way I can stay in your arms?” Then he told me the only way he could stay in my arms is if I would be his wife. So he asked me to be his wife. I said yes and threw my arms around him. Somehow he had managed to pull the ring box out of the cooler without me noticing and held the ring out for me to see as he proposed. We were engaged! I was thrilled!

He opened up the cooler and pulled out fruit, cheese and sparkling cider to enjoy as we basked in the glow of our engagement.

I also had some questions for him, because I’m a details person. Haha :) Like where did the bottle come from? A friend was hiding along the walkway next to the water. He was laying down hiding behind a two-foot wall so I wouldn’t see him. Once we arrived at the designated spot, he threw the bottle into the water next to us. Where did the money for the ring come from? His brother gave him some money and loaned him some more, and Luke got the ring from a jeweler friend who gave it to him for below wholesale price.

Anyway…we got married four and half months later. Now twelve and a half years later we have three beautiful children and love the life we have together.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed our story!