Reisa & Ian’s Engagement Story

Comment Written by natasha on March 30, 2009 – 8:00 am

Here is Reisa and Ian’s engagement story — another big surprise! We hope you enjoy Reisa’s version of the story….

“Ian and I dated for 2 years from 2003 to 2005, but I am 7 years older so at that time, we were at different stages in life. It wasn’t because I wanted to settle down, it was more due to the fact that he didn’t feel like he knew where he was going in life and I had my career in full swing.  We remained friends but never thought the timing would be right, but in October 2008 we reconnected and fell in love all over again. I had never really given marriage a lot of thought, but when Ian surprised me by proposing in Cuba, it was the most exciting experience that I will never forget.

 Normally I am the planner, the one who will devise a plan to surprise him.  But he topped them all with his elaborate plan that everyone was in on except me.

 Ian’s sister was getting married in Cuba in January 2009, and I couldn’t really afford to go at the time but I still wanted Ian to go.  We agreed that he would go on his own. On Christmas Eve, Ian was really excited and wanted to exchange gifts which we did, and then on Christmas morning, he said he had forgotten to give me one gift – it was a trip to Cuba for the wedding! I initially thought “I can’t leave work with a week’s notice!” but he had taken care of everything and my employees were all for it.

 We went to Cuba with about 34 other guests, and little did I know at the time, everyone knew Ian was planning to propose after his sister’s wedding, but they were all so excited and afraid that someone would let it slip that they encouraged him to do it on our first night there.

 It had been a long flight and my luggage got lost in a mix up of flights, so the first day there, I was feeling exhausted.  I was so concerned about the fact that I might not have anything to wear to the wedding, that I really wasn’t expecting what was about to happen.

 We went for a walk down to the beach; we were both in our swim suits and when he asked if I wanted to sit and watch the sunset, I still had no idea what he was planning. 

 As we sat down, he asked “You love me, right?”

“Of course, I do” I said.

He got down on one knee, pulled the ring box from his pocket, look me in the eyes and said, “I love you so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you…will you marry me?”  

 I was in complete shock, and I didn’t say yes right away… I said “do you know what you’re doing?! This is a REALLY big deal!”

He stayed calm and replied “Yes, I have been thinking about it for a long time and know that this is what I want.” Supposedly, I was barely breathing because I was crying so hard, but I have no memory of this so I have to take his word for it.

 After a few seconds, Ian finally asked if he could put the ring on my finger, and when I said “yes”, he asked “does that mean yes?”  I said, “Yes, yes, yes!” 

 He stood up and slipped the ring on my finger and kissed me.  Luckily just a moment later, a Spanish tourist was walking by and when we told him what had just transpired, he said “So happy, so happy!” and offered to take our picture, so we were able to capture the exact moment! It was such a surreal moment, and I was so overwhelmed that my memory of it is kind of a blur, so I’m happy we have the photo.

 When we walked back to the resort, everyone was so excited for us and started cheering – it was a really amazing moment!

We will be getting married on August 01, 2010 in Vancouver, BC.”

Were you recently engaged? Check out our free photo albums for engaged couples! Do you have an engagement story you’d like to share with us? Email editor@theweddinglens.com.