It is official. The ManBoy (who henceforth will be referred to as One-Day-Hubs ("ODH") proposed at 6:28PM on Friday, December 18, 2009 in the middle of Grand Central Terminal in New York City.... and I (of course) said yes!
Behind the Scenes:
While spending Thanksgiving Weekend in NJ with my family, ODH took the opportunity to speak with my father and ask for his blessing in asking me to marry him. The two of them spoke briefly while waiting for the start of "The Blind Side" at the Preakness Movie Theater in Wayne, NJ. (Looks like the conversation went over pretty well). From that day on, they were all in Top Secret Planning Mode. With the help of my sister-in-law’s parents (they’re in the jewelry business), ODH was able to carefully (and secretly) select the perfect ring (and let me just say, he did a darn good job! It is gorgeous! See above!)
Setting the Stage:
On Friday, ODH and I were scheduled to meet with the events coordinator at Cipriani 42nd St. to see the space as a possible reception venue at 7:00PM. He asked me to meet him in Grand Central near the clock at 6:15. Knowing that Friday is a dress-down day at my office, ODH suggested I dress up for our meeting, so that we wouldn't look out of place at Cipriani. Suspiciously, I agreed.
At 6:12PM (yes, for the first time in my life I was early), I walked into the terminal. As I headed for the clock, I looked at the grand and beautiful setting around me, thinking to myself, how romantic and truly "so New York" this landmark is. To my right, was a Tiffany's advertisement of a diamond ring. Immediately my thoughts ran to how perfectly romantic this setting would be for an engagement. Almost as soon as the thought entered my mind though, I had to push it out, as I'd been told several times not to expect any kind of official proposal before the New Year.
The Proposal:
After waiting impatiently for over 10 minutes and texting and calling ODH twice, my phone rang.... ODH: "Where are you" Me: "By the clock, where are you" ODH: "I'm by the clock, I don't see you" Me: "Ok, stay where you are, I see you".
Amidst the rush hour madness, I found him waiting for me. I suggested we grab a cup of coffee before heading over to the venue and then proceeded to ask for a piece of gum. ODH (chewing gum): "I don't have any gum."
All of a sudden, between searching for that piece of gum and being easily distracted by the hustle and bustle of the crowd around me, I saw the flash of a red box in his hand as he knelt to the ground on one knee. I was beside myself, it all seemed to happen so quickly, and yet I have the clearest image in my mind of the moment. ODH: "Jaclyn McLean, will you marry me.... (long pause) please?" Of course, I said yes and then asked if I got to keep the beautiful ring in front of me.
It truly felt like something out of a movie (in fact, we're pretty sure it is in a movie somewhere). The people around us stopped to watch, applaud, and congratulate us as we began the round of phone calls to announce the good news.
We've been celebrating ever since. I must admit, I'm still amazed when I look down at my hand and remember that this is real. It's a dream come true for both of us, we couldn't be happier.
The months ahead will be filled with fun and planning and great joy and we are so thrilled to be sharing it all with loving family and friends.
Over the holidays, we'll be spending time up in Boston with his family and out in Colorado with mine, and we'll be soaking up every minute of it. What a way to ring in 2010 (pun intended)!
Amidst the excitement of the evening's events, and fielding all of the beautiful messages of congratulations we received, we also had the opportunity to spend some quiet time with each other and with God. We took the time to thank Him for bringing us to this place in our lives as individuals, and for bringing us to each other. We are blessed to see the work that He is doing in us, and pray that He continues to put His hand on this relationship as we seek to place Him at the very center of our marriage.
So to all of you, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and God Bless!
Behind the Scenes:
While spending Thanksgiving Weekend in NJ with my family, ODH took the opportunity to speak with my father and ask for his blessing in asking me to marry him. The two of them spoke briefly while waiting for the start of "The Blind Side" at the Preakness Movie Theater in Wayne, NJ. (Looks like the conversation went over pretty well). From that day on, they were all in Top Secret Planning Mode. With the help of my sister-in-law’s parents (they’re in the jewelry business), ODH was able to carefully (and secretly) select the perfect ring (and let me just say, he did a darn good job! It is gorgeous! See above!)
Setting the Stage:
On Friday, ODH and I were scheduled to meet with the events coordinator at Cipriani 42nd St. to see the space as a possible reception venue at 7:00PM. He asked me to meet him in Grand Central near the clock at 6:15. Knowing that Friday is a dress-down day at my office, ODH suggested I dress up for our meeting, so that we wouldn't look out of place at Cipriani. Suspiciously, I agreed.
At 6:12PM (yes, for the first time in my life I was early), I walked into the terminal. As I headed for the clock, I looked at the grand and beautiful setting around me, thinking to myself, how romantic and truly "so New York" this landmark is. To my right, was a Tiffany's advertisement of a diamond ring. Immediately my thoughts ran to how perfectly romantic this setting would be for an engagement. Almost as soon as the thought entered my mind though, I had to push it out, as I'd been told several times not to expect any kind of official proposal before the New Year.
The Proposal:
After waiting impatiently for over 10 minutes and texting and calling ODH twice, my phone rang.... ODH: "Where are you" Me: "By the clock, where are you" ODH: "I'm by the clock, I don't see you" Me: "Ok, stay where you are, I see you".
Amidst the rush hour madness, I found him waiting for me. I suggested we grab a cup of coffee before heading over to the venue and then proceeded to ask for a piece of gum. ODH (chewing gum): "I don't have any gum."
All of a sudden, between searching for that piece of gum and being easily distracted by the hustle and bustle of the crowd around me, I saw the flash of a red box in his hand as he knelt to the ground on one knee. I was beside myself, it all seemed to happen so quickly, and yet I have the clearest image in my mind of the moment. ODH: "Jaclyn McLean, will you marry me.... (long pause) please?" Of course, I said yes and then asked if I got to keep the beautiful ring in front of me.
It truly felt like something out of a movie (in fact, we're pretty sure it is in a movie somewhere). The people around us stopped to watch, applaud, and congratulate us as we began the round of phone calls to announce the good news.
We've been celebrating ever since. I must admit, I'm still amazed when I look down at my hand and remember that this is real. It's a dream come true for both of us, we couldn't be happier.
The months ahead will be filled with fun and planning and great joy and we are so thrilled to be sharing it all with loving family and friends.
Over the holidays, we'll be spending time up in Boston with his family and out in Colorado with mine, and we'll be soaking up every minute of it. What a way to ring in 2010 (pun intended)!
Amidst the excitement of the evening's events, and fielding all of the beautiful messages of congratulations we received, we also had the opportunity to spend some quiet time with each other and with God. We took the time to thank Him for bringing us to this place in our lives as individuals, and for bringing us to each other. We are blessed to see the work that He is doing in us, and pray that He continues to put His hand on this relationship as we seek to place Him at the very center of our marriage.
So to all of you, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and God Bless!
so beautiful!! congrats!!
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