I'll start by going back a couple of years ago. Shanna and I had just past the 5 year mark in our relationship. I thought to myself, "Hey, it might be time to think about getting married." But looking at where I was financially and the seemingly zero chance of coming into more money anytime soon, I thought a proposal was way out of the question. I always thought I would like to do something grandiose for a proposal, but having no money really throws a wrench into that dream. So, I prayed. Not a prayer for money or stuff. Just a prayer that God would be with me and that I would take notice of the details in life, no matter how small. Last time I checked, Jesus didn't need a whole lot of cash to perform miracles so I figured if I just invited him into the details of my life, he could make amazing things out of this ordinary person.
Fast forward to about mid 2011. Things were still pretty down in the financial area of my life, but I didn't have doubts that there was change happening. There was something changing in me and it was my need to be right. It was an obsession really. I had to be right about everything and everything had to make sense to me. Anything otherwise would just make me angry and really, it was a driving force in a lot of the decisions I had made up to that point. But I could feel that need subside a little bit as I began to dwell on the steps I wanted to take into making the world a better place. "Be the change I want to see." And the change I really want to see is for people to default to love rather than defaulting to what makes the most sense. So I started with me. This allowed me to have better relationships with people, allowed me to see the perspective of others and not just my own.
Needless to say, this had a positive effect in my workplace relationships and really led to a remarkable financial increase that was a hope that I gave up on a while back. Couple that with a sizable tax refund (thanks, Obama!) and suddenly I had the means to make a little something happen. So I started processing the possibilities, setting up something at our home away from home, Disneyland, enlisting the help of friends to capture the moment and so on and so on. Then I had to find out what kind of ring she wanted. I was always leery of buying the ring because I knew it was going to be really modest. Like embarrassingly modest in comparison to her friends' rings. Since my prayer 2 years ago, I had resigned myself to the fact that anything I did or bought would be modest. I want to keep from getting too dramatic because I know I'm blessed to just be able to afford anything. But I knew I could make up for it in thoughtfulness.
A few months before the proposal, I knew Shanna was helping coordinate a friend's wedding in Hawaii. I had told Shanna that I wouldn't be able to afford the trip out to Hawaii, especially to just hang out and do my own thing away from the wedding. So I kicked around the idea of surprising Shanna in Hawaii with one of our friends, Trisha. She really encouraged me to look into the idea. I found out that they were planning to have breakfast at Aulani, the Disney resort in Kapolei, HI. I immediately knew that would be the perfect place and time to surprise Shanna. The fusion of two of her favorite things, Hawaii and Disney, set the perfect place to propose. So the real planning began.
I'm so grateful for the people in our lives that helped support us not only for this occasion but for the years we've been together. I know the plan wouldn't have gone nearly as smoothly as it did without the help of friends and family. I have so many people to thank and hopefully I've expressed my gratitude in person already. I had help with everything from buying the ring, booking my flight, hotel and rental car, gathering info on Aulani, and coordinating schedules. And I think the most amazing part is that it was all kept under wraps even though I told more people than I should have.
So Shanna left for Hawaii with no clue what I was planning. She called me to see if I missed her and I kinda played it off like I didn't miss her because it had only been a couple of days and that I would see her in a couple more. Sunday, May 27th, the day I planned to fly in to Honolulu, was finally here. Shanna tried to call me while I was in the air and by not answering my phone, she became more and more upset with me. From the airport, I picked up my rental car and drove straight to Aulani. I pulled up to the beautiful hotel and spoke to Shane at the front desk. I asked for his advice on where to do the proposal and what I could expect the next morning. He was quite helpful and I really was comfortable there from the get go. After checking into my room, I had dinner with a few friends, all the while texting with Shanna's friends to make sure we didn't cross paths just yet. Shanna called me again that night and I probably infuriated her when I brushed her off because I told her I was playing video games with my friends. At that point I kinda knew I was in trouble but also that it would make the next day even more awesome.
I woke up Monday, May 28th to a gorgeous Hawaii morning. I was up early in the morning, awakened by anticipation. After getting ready and making sure I had the ring, I got a text from Trisha saying, "omg, tell Shanna's dad to zip it!" I didn't know what happened at first but I found out that Shanna had called home to talk to her mom but she ended up talking to her dad for a little bit. He asked her what time her flight was coming in the next day and she said like 10:30 but he didn't have to worry because I was going to pick her up. His response was, "Oh, he's back already?" He had thought I had already done it. Luckily for me, she didn't give it a second thought and just said "Back from where? He didn't go anywhere. He's playing video games with his friends." His explanation was classic. He said, "Oh, back from wherever he went." Well played.
So I got to Aulani about 45 minutes before Shanna and I let the front desk know what I was planning. The whole staff at the resort was amazingly helpful and really helped make the moment special. Len coordinated with photographers to be ready and Hi'ilani came up with the ring presentation. She thought of planting the ring inside a Plumeria which sat at the center of a bowl of flowers. She would then come over to Shanna when the time was right and ask her if she would like a flower and show her the ring. Genius! Hi'ilani also had leis prepared for us after the big moment.
So with the staff ready and waiting, I stood at the balcony overlooking the pool area and the beach. I had a clear view of the front doors of the hotel and waited what seemed like an eternity. Then I got the text from Trisha saying they had parked at the hotel. People kept walking through the lobby and every time the sliding doors opened, my heart skipped a little. Then, finally, I saw Shanna walk in. Of course she was engrossed with her phone and trying to upload the photo she just took of the exterior. She had tagged me in the photo on Facebook, letting me know what the hotel looked like from her point of view. Little did she know, I had already seen it twice in person! So after a couple of minutes of waiting for her to make it out to the balcony, she was still oblivious to my presence. I gave her a little, "Pssssst... hey!" She finally looked up at me and said, "What the heck? What are you doing here?" I told her to "come here" and that's when Hi'ilani came over with the ring presentation. As soon as Shanna saw the ring, the uncontrollable tears started to flow. (for her, not me.) I'll let the slideshow tell the rest, I was just surprised that she was so surprised. I want to thank Danny for providing direction for the photos and the always awesome job that he does. And I can't forget Derwin who showed us some of the locations that provide great photo opps. The happiness you'll see throughout the slideshow is a culmination of being surrounded by so much love. I think I can speak for Shanna when I say that we can't say it enough. We are truly grateful for the support from family and friends and we still covet your thoughts and prayers. We just hope we can offer the same back to you.
