Karl and I met and became close friends during undergrad at U of S, and started dating in the spring of 2008. We’ve dated long distance for almost four years, as he is in medical school in Saskatchewan, and I’ve been in Ontario for optometry school since that fall. This December I was in South Africa on a volunteer eye care mission. Unbeknownst to me, the morning Karl dropped me off at the airport, he drove 1.5 hours to my parent’s house to get their blessing. When I got home, Karl had just finished final exams, and to celebrate we rented a chalet in Banff for a few days, with five of his friends. We went for dinner the first night, before the guys arrived. Karl brought up that he wasn’t ready to be engaged, saying he was sorry, but he just wasn’t ready for the commitment.
I tried not to be bothered by this news as we drove back to the chalet. When we pulled up to the driveway, Karl’s friend Denny was standing there in a suit and tie, and holding a rose. He opened my door, offered me the rose and his arm, told me I looked beautiful, walked me up the driveway to where Chris (who was also wearing a suit and holding a rose) joined us, and they walked me down the path towards the chalet. At this point I knew they had planned something for me, but my mind rejected the thought that Karl was going to propose, since he had just thrown me off at dinner, 15 minutes before. I then saw the others, Nick, Nico, and Tanner, standing in front of the chalet in suits and ties.
They each handed me a rose as I met them along the path, but would only smile when I nervously asked what was going on. With my hand full of roses, I burst into tears as I walked inside. While Karl and I were out, the five of them went in and arranged six dozen roses, lit 200 tea lights, rolled out a red carpet, put my favorite song on repeat, lit a fire in the fireplace, made a nest of pillows in front of the fire, set a bottle of wine and two glasses on the white table cloth, AND they brought their suits with them on their ski trip, just for that moment, then disappeared when Karl and I got inside. When Karl came in, he delivered the heartfelt speech he had planned for that moment, and as I stood there in awe, he got down on his knee, held out a ring, and asked me to marry him. Truly an unforgettable night!
