Mike and Nicole's Engagement Story

So it was the week before Thanksgiving and I was out and about Christmas shopping for Nicole. For no apparent reason I wandered into this jewelry store at the mall. I just browsed around looking, when the girl behind the counter called me out. She quickly rattled off the cut I was looking for and the material of the ring. I wasn't sure that I was ready to get a ring just yet, but Chris quickly convinced me to come back at the end of the week and I could get a good deal on the ring.

I returned at the end of the week and purchased Nicole's engagement ring. At this point, the only person that I had told was my close friend Chris. For nearly two weeks, only Chris and I knew about the ring. One night Nicole and I were going to a Pacers game with my friend Jim and his wife Allie. When Allie and Nicole walked away for a short while, I told Jim about the ring. By now I was having trouble keeping it quiet. I spoke to my friend Jeremy that weekend and told him.

While I was going to have my morning coffee with Doug my boss, he joked about what I may have gotten Nicole for Christmas referring to a ring. I told him not for Christmas but for her birthday 2 days later. I told him about my plan and he actually helped me make arrangements and offer a better suggestion for my plan. With Doug's help, the plans were set.

So at this point I felt guilty, because I hadn't even had the chance to tell my parents yet. I called them and let them know what my plans were and when it was going to take place. Now my challenge was to talk to Nicole's parents before I asked Nicole to marry me. Her parents came down just before Christmas Eve. Nicole's mom was here first, and at a moment that Nicole wasn't around, I told her mom what I was doing. She was very excited, and very good about acting like nothing was happening. A day later, her dad came down to stay. When Nicole was out of the room, I told Nicole's dad about my plans. I had intended to phrase it as to ask him, but I was nervous and that is just how it came out. I caught him off guard and speechless. It was actually quite funny now that I look back on it. The next day, when he had his composure back, he gave me his blessing.

December 28th, 2007, I had made plans to take Nicole out to dinner for her birthday. I took her to a really nice French restaurant called the Chanteclair. Fortunately for me, I already knew some of the staff at the restaurant since it was located at one of my companies properties. Nicole was dressed in a pretty black dress along with the pearl earrings that I had given her as a gift for Christmas.

I had the ring in my coat pocket. The arrangement was to give the ring to the concierge and he would set it up to be brought out with dessert. I was nervous because they asked us for our coats when we arrived and I didn't know what to do. I hesitated for a second, but realized that the restroom was nearby and would be a good excuse when its time to get the ring. I handed my coat over and we were seated for dinner.

Dinner was unforgettable. We had fresh cesar salad made at the table. Actually, I guess I actually forgot what I ate for dinner but the salad was wonderful. Anyway, there is a guy that walks around and plays music on his violin. He came over to our table and offered to play a song for us. It turns out that he played a wedding song, which made me a little uneasy at the time since I knew what I would be doing later. Nicole was happy, just smiling and laughing. This was the first time that I had been anywhere with Nicole and actually had trouble talking or coming up with things to talk about.