A Proposal in a Bottle

One beautiful summer weekend in Boston, Johnny and I decided to take our pups Charlie and Bennie to the dog beach for the day. This is one of our favorite summer activities, after all, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary when Johnny suggested we go. When I left our place that day, I had no idea that there would be a message in a bottle waiting for me in the sand. One that would ultimately lead to the biggest surprise of my life.

But let me back up.

What came as a shock to me is that so many people knew about this surprise for months. Some even played a major role in the plan’s success. Johnny jumped through hoop after hoop to make sure everything played out perfectly. He even went through my phone while I was sleeping (he’s lucky I sleep a rock) to get the contact info he needed to arrange a week off, away from clients and free of all other adult responsibilities.

When I found that first bottle at Squantum Point Beach, the clue prompted a trip to Portsmouth, NH. A clue in Portsmouth led us to the White Mountains, and a clue in the White Mountains sent us to New York City. Somehow without me knowing, Johnny managed to place handwritten messages in glass bottles all over the Northeast, each one highlighting a special part of our relationship. And just like that, Johnny took me on a magical, week-long-journey to reminisce the memories we built together.

When we returned home to Boston – the biggest surprise yet was waiting. Johnny arranged for a car to pick me up, only to be blindfolded on the way to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. When I arrived, my dad was there waiting to escort me into the museum’s courtyard. That’s when Johnny handed over the final bottle.

Johnny said a lot of beautiful things to me during this time; many of which I can’t seem to remember from from all of the nerves flowing through my body. Shaking like a leaf, I opened the last bottle. “Will you marry me?” appeared before my eyes as Johnny got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.

Without hesitation, I immediately screamed, “YES!” And after lots of happy tears, we left the courtyard only to be greeted by our closest friends and family members. It was the perfect ending to a perfect week. Every time I catch a glimpse of my ring from E.B. Horn Jewelers, I’m constantly reminded of that magical journey Johnny took me on. It’s certainly one of many weeks that we will remember for the rest of our life together.