This engagement story crossed our desk this morning, and we couldn't help smiling from ear to ear after reading it! We love a well-thought-out proposal, and this one was a year in the making. Here, in her own words, Kat describes the incredible proposal she planned for her girlfriend, Lindy.
Lindy and I met in college through a mutual friend and later reconnected when the timing was right. We first started dating in January 2011, when we were both 24 years old. The chemistry was instant, and I was hooked on her from the beginning!
After dating for three years, I decided that I wanted to do something special that showed Lindy a new depth of love and commitment. On New Year's Day 2014, Lindy came home from work to find an empty box sitting on the doorstep and a note taped to the door. In the first card, I explained to her that the empty box would soon be filled with love notes every day from the entire year.
From that day on, and every day afterwards, I wrote Lindy a love letter that expressed my feelings, thoughts, and appreciation for her and our relationship. Each letter outlined something specific for each day, based on what we were experiencing together at the time. I was able to capture in writing the most special moment of each day — big or small — and was able to remind Lindy of that in each love letter, even on days that it seemed impossible.
If I had to travel across the country for business, I wouldn’t use that as an excuse to skip writing a letter for those days. I would hide love notes around the house and tell her where to look for them so she wouldn’t have to go a day without being reminded of my love for her. Even if Lindy traveled out of town without me, I would hide letters in her luggage and write the corresponding day on the envelope for when they should be opened and read, hoping to remind her of what she had back home and how much she was missed.
In late December, I could tell Lindy was starting to feel a little down that the letters might be coming to an end. On December 31, she opened her last letter from me. It was a recollection of all that we had experienced together over the last year. That morning, Lindy couldn’t stop saying how crazy it was that I had written her a love letter every day for 365 days and how each one was unique and special. Frankly, I couldn’t imagine not reminding her every day how much I appreciated her.
Little did she know, it was only the beginning. We were on vacation in Charleston for New Year’s Eve, revisiting the same exact spot where we took our first vacation together back in 2011. After getting ready for what Lindy thought was going to be a nice brunch downtown, we stepped outside together onto the balcony that overlooked the Charleston Harbor, where both of our lives were about to change forever.
We were sitting down in two Adirondack chairs, side by side, looking at the gorgeous view, when I told Lindy I had some things to show her. I brought out a bookbag (to Lindy’s confusion) and then pulled out a photo book. I told her: “I’ve been writing you a love letter every day, for the past 365 days, and I know you can’t carry around a big box with you everywhere, so I made you something.”
After opening the first page to the book, Lindy’s eyes began to well up immediately when she saw what I had done. But even then, she couldn’t comprehend it; for I had taken a photo of every single letter that I had written for Lindy in 2014 and included them in the book.
What I had been keeping a secret all year is that a hidden message was encoded in each love letter: the fourth word in every second paragraph of each love letter formed a 365 word proposal.
Lindy was floored and in total shock after seeing the book. After having to re-read nearly every page as the tears were clouding her vision and excitement and disbelief were clouding her mind, Lindy finally reached the end of the book and the end of the proposal, which stated that I had something I'd been meaning to ask her. I pulled out a ring box, got down on one knee, and showed Lindy the ring that I had designed specifically for her, while saying the words, “Lindy, I don’t remember what my life was like before you, and I don’t want to live without you. You are the only person I ever want to grow old with. Will you marry me?”
After what felt like an hour long pause, she finally looked up with tears streaming down her face and said, “Of course!”
And that is where our story truly begins.
—Kat Wall
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