An Engagement Story

Once upon a time, there was a tall, dark and handsome young man named Oren. Oren, being the hopeless romantic that he is, decided to take his lady on a vacation and ask her to marry him at a beautiful winery in Napa Valley, California on their one-year anniversary.

After arriving at the first winery, which was the famous Robert Mondavi winery, it had suddenly begun raining. Fortunately, the rain only added to the romantic feel as it lightly fell upon the vineyard and flowers and trees in the distance. There were beautiful mountains in the background with mystical clouds hovering over them. The setting was as if it was taken out of a storybook.

As Oren and his lady walked along under the covered portion of the open area, Emily pointed out a beautiful rose garden. The couple walked over there and stood staring at the pretty scenery. As they stood there, Oren was building up the guts to say some important things. He finally began and it went a little something like this:

"Well, it's been a year since I first asked you to be my girlfriend. And I knew on that day that this was the start of something really special. Emily, I love you. I am so in love with you. There comes a time in each person's life when they have to decide who they want to spend the rest of their life with. I have made that decision and want to spend the rest of my life with you. [Oren gets down on one knee and pulls a ring box out of his pocket and opens it]. Emily, will you marry me?"

[Emily shaking and having an out-of-body experience looks at Oren and the ring and back at Oren smiling] "Of course I will! It would be an honor." [Emily bends over to hug Oren and he gets back up holding on to her. They stand and hug for a long time and after a minute or so they both start crying. They tell each other how happy they make each other and how excited they are to be the other's life-long partner. After several kisses and hugs, some photos are taken and the cell phones come out. They take turns calling parents, siblings and best friends for the next hour or so.

The rain doesn't let up once, yet the newly engaged couple begin their wine tasting journey. They only get to go to three wineries before closing time, but at most places, the employees found out about the engagement and gave the couple an extra free souvenir glass with extra wine or champagne to express their congratulations.

Later, the lovebirds went to a lovely french bistro in downtown Napa Valley called Angele. They were led to a more private, quiet room where they were given yet again another two glasses of champagne to celebrate the occasion. Oren ate the steak and Emily had the halibut. It was rich and delicious. They were both pretty exhausted from such an emotional day so they returned to their lovely Marriott hotel and day spa in Napa and retired.

The next morning they awoke and ventured over to the day spa for a one-hour couples massage. The spa was so relaxing and peaceful with steam rooms and jacuzzis and other fun amenities. After a blissful experience, they returned to their room and ordered room service breakfast. It was very tasty. They soon departed and made their way to Sausalito where they were to spend the rest of their vacation with Emily's brother and family who also helped make the occasion super special and enjoyable.

THE END

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We are so very excited in this time in our lives and have many people to thank for being instrumental in helping with the proposal, the ring, and accommodations. This was an unforgettable and beautiful experience that we will forever treasure. We promise to inform everyone of a date as soon as we get it finalized. Until then, we are trying to enjoy a few weeks in engagement bliss before all the planning gets under way. There will also be an official web site for the wedding, where all of the pertinent information and photos will be provided. We love you all and can't wait to share such a wonderful experience with you.