Aaron here! This is how I popped the question:

When it came time to ask Mandy to marry me, there was no uncertainty about the final outcome. We had talked extensively about wanting to get married and had waited for God to open the door. We had gone ring shopping and even picked a couple out. She even knew that I had bought the ring already and that I had asked her brother for his permission (in honor of her father).

The challenge came in how I could surprise her and make it special, since she knew that it was coming. Any of the typical scenarios that I could think of were so far out of our normal routine that they would have tipped her off a mile away. Some people try to execute a grandiose proposal that involves large crowds of people (and I’ll admit that I used to dream about doing that as well), but I knew that wasn’t the right way to go about it. I wanted something personal, private, and tailored specifically for what Mandy would appreciate.

My office is set up in the back room of her garage, in a space that her father had set up several years ago. I told her that I had completed some work on a website that I wanted to show her. (This was actually true, but I was able to use it as a ruse.) Between her house and the garage is a grass area (the same spot we will be married) surrounded by a garden. A tree in the garden had just dropped its leaves, which were still yellow and soft. I gathered up all of the leaves and formed a heart out of them. I then got in my suit, set up my camera, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

My heart began to race. I wasn’t nervous about the answer I would hear, but I knew that I had one chance to not screw it up. No dress rehearsals in this performance. Alerts popped up on my Apple Watch that read, “your heart rate is over 120bpm and you don’t appear to be working out… are you okay?”

Finally, the back door opened. I tried to wake up my camera (and failed, missing the big moment) and quickly stood in the middle of the heart of leaves. In my hand was a poem I had written that morning, scribbled on a piece of paper. It took her several paces to see me standing there. I’m not even sure how to describe her initial reaction. She covered her mouth and started jumping leg to leg in an absolute giddy excitement.

I waited for her to approach, then I read the words I held:

In this moment
This humble place
My heart beats at
A rapid pace

I look to you
My love, my queen
I know I’m safe
I know I’m seen

I’ve found my home
I’ve found my rest
My journey’s done
A conquered quest

Desire fulfilled
An answer to prayer
A life well lived
We now can share

My better half
I ask you now:
Will you be mine
And share my vow?

Mandy immediately exclaimed before I was even done, “yes! Yes!” I told her that I hadn’t even proposed yet, which made both of us laugh. So, I got down on my knee and asked her to be my wife.

She said yes.

Mandy also wants you to know that she got her fairytale proposal. It didn’t require me to spend money or orchestrate a flash mob, it came from my heart and she couldn’t have asked for it to go differently or any better.