Our Proposal
Her Perspective:
If you had asked me before our trip to Japan if Deven was going to propose, I would have very quickly turned the idea down. In the several months leading up to our trip, Deven had been completely throwing me off the possibility. But in hindsight, this was the perfect setup for me to be totally clueless about the entire thing.
In the morning, I just thought Deven was really wanting to take his time in the area we were exploring… stopping to apply sunscreen (A+ for sun care), looking at a massive slug, tying his shoes, and even walking at the same pace as me (forever two steps ahead). Little did I know he was actually stalling to make sure the moment was perfect. And it absolutely was…
We made it to the location, and oddly, a photographer was there who conveniently asked to take our photo (I was still clueless). She gave some cues on how to pose, and when I turned around, Deven was on one knee.
Deven caught me completely by surprise and proposed in Kyoto amongst the beautiful bamboo forest. The perfect moment, the perfect day, the perfect start to our next chapter.
His Perspective:
My perspective had a lot more stress and planning than Tia’s experience. First off, buying a ring for someone who has your location on Find My Friends adds a whole extra layer of anxiety on top of actually designing it. Thankfully, my extremely organized fiancée had fantastic notes on what she wanted, so we were able to design the perfect ring.
I figured that knowing Troy (Tia’s dad) for 9+ years would make asking to marry his daughter a walk in the park. You’d be wrong... I was nervous. He’s not scary, and I didn’t think he’d say no. The real reason was that Troy was the very first person I told about the ring and my plan to propose in Japan. After a few hours of fishing at the Schmidt cottage, I finally worked up the courage to ask.
Then it was time to head to Japan, and that’s when the real stress started. I had found this amazing photographer on Instagram who helped plan how she’d capture the moment in the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto. As Tia mentioned, she was on a mission that morning, and I had to deploy every stall tactic I could think of so we didn’t arrive early. Sunscreen, slugs, slow walking, you name it. But ultimately, a fake poop stop in the train station was the real difference-maker. When it was finally time to get down on one knee, we were able to capture the perfect moment!
