News, Tips & Offers delivered to your inbox.

Mike and I met our senior year of college, just before graduation. Even though I was moving to rural China to do some volunteer work and he was heading to...

He was heading to Colorado to start a job, it just seemed that we needed to do whatever it took to try to make our relationship work.

It was a hard year and a half apart but, as soon as I returned to the US, we decided that I would move to wherever he was, and we should give "us" a chance. So I moved to Colorado (where I didn't know a soul), and jumped into a relationship that in many ways had just started.

Five years and a move to California later, Mike designed my perfect ring and had it made. He was going to propose (or so he claims!), when his older brother announced his own engagement and wedding plans. So as not to steal anyone's thunder, he waited to propose. Then my closest friend got engaged and married as well, which postponed everything even longer.

Finally, a year after he had purchased my ring he and I took a trip to my hometown, and we were immediately thrown into the chaos and business that is my family. At this point, engagement had been pushed to the far back of my brain, as I had decided that I would stop thinking about it and hoping for it.

After a full day with my large family, Mike and I had a moment on our own, and he took my hand and led me out to the Christmas tree at my mothers home. I was pretty excited about Christmas and thought maybe he was going to give into my requests to shake all of the presents to see what they could be. But instead he got down on one knee, and held out the most perfect ring I've ever seen.

I have absolutely no idea what he said, but I was crying and didn't hesitate a moment before giving him a kiss. The whole occurrence took me completely by surprise, as did the group of my family members who came over for dinner to celebrate. It was a wonderful, private proposal and a great celebration with my family at dinner.

In speaking with Mike later, he revealed many foiled plans for the proposal. It makes me laugh now to look back on a few conversations we had where I walked away thinking he was a loon for saying something, when little did I know he was trying to set up a situation to propose to me.

Even though the wait was a bit longer than he or I expected, it was such a special and surprising time to propose that it made all of the months I spent wondering "is this EVER going to happen?" 100% worth it.