The Proposal from the Gentleman...
I'm sure all of you have been dying to hear how I proposed to April. Well here it is.
I had been planning to propose somehow for quite some time. But after circumstances, the proposal was set for November 14th, 2009. Talking to Billy Coye, I told him what I wanted to do. However, by not being at this venue before, I did not know what to expect. He advised me to take a different tack, so I did. I was nervous with this new plan. I know she really did not want a very public proposal but this was too good to pass up. I decided to go for it and deal with the consequences if things turned for the worse. The venue was the ACWA (American Civil War Association) Grand Ball in Sonora, CA. Backtracking a little bit, I bought the ring and did not like the box it came in. It was entirely cheesy! So at Duncan's Mills (a Civil War reenactment in NorCal) there was a sutlery (like a modern day store...) selling used goods that looked period. There was this one metal heartshaped box that I thought would be perfect...so I bought it! Jumping ahead again...when we got to the dance, I pulled Billy aside and gave him the locket with the ring inside and asked him to give it to me when I got down on my knee to propose. While the band was still setting up, Billy instructed me to talk to them and make sepcial accommodations, so I went over there to talk to them. I really wanted a violin to be played. I told them that I wanted to propose during the third waltz of the night. They all got giddy and loved the idea. They all were excited to help me out. So they changed the song to a love waltz. Great...plans were in motion now, I just had to wait till that dance. The night went on, April and I danced a couple times just making sure she does not over work her body. All night I'd been telling her how much I love her and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. The dance finally came up and I pulled her out on the dance floor and started waltzing with her. I purposely danced pretty close to Billy and his partner, Anita. I looked into her eyes the entire dance and took it all in. I could see the love and joy in her eyes. All the while, I was doing the waltz without stepping on her, slipping in my brogans, or anything else that could have gone wrong. Then mid-dance, I got down on one knee and asked April, "Will you marry me?" Billy slipped the box into my hands, I pulled out the ring and she, being in complete shock, said...well either I didn't hear her or she didn't say anything...I asked her again, "Will you marry me?" Then, she said "YES!" I slipped the ring on her finger. And we took our first kiss as an engaged couple! We danced some more and hugged. She, at this point, was shaking because she was so excited. She could hardly contain herself. We then, of course, got flocked by everyone's congratulations and they asked, "let me see the ring." That was to be expected. At this point, the dance was running about an hour behind. The ball went on till about midnight, then came to a close. All in all, it was a great event and we will remember this occasion for a VERY long time! Thanks to all who support us! Your support is what makes relationships last. Thank you all.

The Proposal from the Lady...
Dillon and I have been dating for almost 3 years and have been talking about getting married for most of that. We have been seriously talking about getting engaged for about 6 months now, so Dillon was beginning to give me a bad time that he would not be able to surprise me. He was right; every time we did anything special I would be hoping that it would finally be the day. So, by this time I had resolved not to expect anything and figured since we decided to wait to 2011 to get married, that he decided to wait until the holidays or something. So I was just excited for the Ball because it was the first Ball I would be going to. I worked on my top of my dress for weeks. Dillon graciously volunteered to pay someone to make my skirt, knowing that it would cause me a great deal of stress to finish both on time, which he was right it would not have been possible. Now to the dance… It was a lovely time at the dinner, catching up with all our friends we haven’t seen in a while. Dillon was very attentive towards me, being really sweet. I totally didn’t think anything was really up, I was just happy to be dressed up and appreciated his support. There were a couple times it may have gone through my head about him possibly proposing, but I noticed there was nothing in his pockets and I resolved, that once again this wasn’t the time. When we got dance cards I immediately signed off on all the waltz dances, and a few others I liked, he really didn’t have to try hard to get me to waltz. We had a wonderful night of dancing and having fun with our friends. When it came time for the waltz, at least an hour after it was suppose to be, Dillon and I joined the couples on the floor. We started to waltz, which I LOVE doing since it reminds me of the ballet I did for 11 years before I developed fibromyalgia, and I was sort of distracted. Dillon kept telling me how much he loved me, how he wanted to be with me, and how beautiful I was. I just kept thinking how close we were to Billy and Anita and we were going to run into them soon, how I didn’t get the chance to teach Dillon the waltz before the Ball, and how we really should take some lessons. So I was COMPLETELY caught by surprise when Dillon stopped dancing, got down on one knee, and opened the ring box Billy threw to him. He did it, he actually completely caught me off guard. And there in the middle of the Ball, in the middle of the “romantic waltz” I had my fairytale princess proposal. I was so shocked I do not even know when I said “yes,” but here the man of my dreams was putting an amazing ring onto my finger and taking off the promise ring. After the dance, we were met by so many people who love and support us with glowing hugs and congratulations. It has been chaos in the aftermath, trying to let everyone know and yet fit back into our normal lives, yet this promise changes so much.
~April

YES!