How It Began
Phil and I knew of each other for a long time before we started dating because he was actually a close friend of my brothers. As we grew older, we started hanging out more and we started to become good friends. We then grew to be truly great friends. Phil eventually asked my brother if he was okay with us dating and it all sky rocketed from there. It was nice dating someone that you already knew a lot about their personality, because you knew exactly what you were already falling in love with. You already knew all of the wonderful things about them, what makes them happy, and what upsets them. It was a strong and loving relationship from the start, which had blossomed from the very beginning of the friendship.
The Most Romantic Thing She’s Done
There are many romantic things Judy has done for me. One of the most memorable was for my 31st Birthday; Judy had secretly planned a surprise golf trip to Phoenix. I’m a huge golfer, and I love golf! She had emailed my boss to take the time off in advance, booked the plane tickets, car rental, rented us a condo in Scottsdale, booked a few tee times and golf club rentals. She took us to a couple of the best golf courses in Phoenix – TPC Stadium and The Golf Club at Eagle Mountain. TPC Stadium holds the PGA Waste Management Tour every year and we were actually going to golf it a couple of days before the tournament. That meant that the entire course was in PGA Tour conditions, the greens were perfect. Hole 16 at the course is known to be the only fully enclosed hole in the PGA Tour. When we played it, all of the benches were set up like a stadium, and it was an awesome experience. She surprised me about the trip in a birthday card with a golf cart on it, and I was really surprised.
The Most Romantic Thing He’s Done
Phil says he’s not a very romantic person, but I think he is the sweetest, most thoughtful person I could ever ask for. One of the most romantic things he’s done for me was for my first birthday that we spent together as a couple; he had snuck a Tiffany’s box under my pillow. (I still don’t know when he snuck it there, or when he had the chance to buy it and have it engraved, I’m like a hawk usually.) That night I jumped in bed to watch TV together like we always do and felt something under my pillow. I burst into tears instantly when I opened the box and wasn’t expecting such a meaningful and sweet gesture so early into our relationship such as a promise ring. We were only dating 4 months at the time and it meant the world to me that he would surprise me with an engraved promise ring. I’m a huge mush, and it made me extremely happy.
How He Proposed
July 8th, 2014. I will forever remember that moment. We were in Kelowna for a friend’s wedding that week. On the last day of our trip, we were supposed to catch a tee time at Predator Ridge Golf Club in Vernon and then head back to Calgary. It was 35 degrees that day. That morning, we were still at our hotel in Kelowna getting ready to drive to Vernon. Phil said that we should have lunch somewhere before we golfed. He suggested Sparkling Hill Resort, a beautiful place we had visited a couple years before, a resort adorned with thousands of Swarovski Crystals overlooking the Okanagan Lake, I agreed. I was brushing my teeth and listened to him “make the lunch reservations”. I had no make-up on that day and my hair was a mess. I was expecting to spend the 4 hours in the 35 degree heat. We headed onto the road and I was in charge of the GPS there. I of course got us lost in the mountains, and I was freaking out that we were going to miss our tee time. Phil was cool as a cucumber. We finally got back on track and arrived at Sparkling Hill with enough time to have lunch. I remember enjoying the view of the lake and the crystals hanging everywhere. It was one of our favorite places. After our meal, I went to the bathroom and came back to the table asking Phil, “Why is it so empty on this side of restaurant? Everyone seems to be over there?” He responded “They must’ve wanted a specific view.” His response didn’t really make sense, but I just brushed it off. The dessert menu had come out, nothing really appealed to me and my priority was to make it to our tee time. I told the waitress we would skip dessert. Sitting at the table with Phil, we were waiting for the server to clean up and bring the bill. Phil jokingly said, “We should just stay here one night.” I replied, “That’s a waste of money, we’re golfing the day away and wouldn’t have time to enjoy the resort!” The server came walking up behind me with a big plate and a silver cover over top. She said “dessert, compliments of the house!” I was overly excited about getting free dessert in a swanky resort. All I could think of was dessert. Phil said “Open it”, I thought it was odd that he was being so pushy, and that the server left the cover over top of my dessert; I looked at him from the corner of my eye, extremely confused. Why am I uncovering my own dessert? I paused and he went in and grabbed the silver lid. I saw words spelled in chocolate with strawberries on the plate. The half second that it took me to read it, my eyes welled up with tears and I was shaking. “Will you marry me?” spelled out in chocolate and strawberries. Complete utter shock, zero expectation, explosions in my chest- a feeling that I had never felt before. Phil pulled a box from his pocket, slid his chair back, and got down on one knee. I am a blubbering mess. His speech consisted of everything a girl ever wanted to hear, ever dreamed of hearing. I said yes. He slid the ring on my finger as I continued to tremble. He explained that we were NOT going to golf in 35 degree weather, that we ARE going to be spending the night at Sparkling Hill and that it was going to a completely amazing, preplanned spa day for just the two of us. Then he confessed it all. That we never had a tee time booked, that he had already contacted the resort for proposal plans, that he had been hiding the ring in our basement for months while he planned his wonderful scheme. I was oblivious, surprised, amazed, and more in love with Phil than I could ever imagine was humanly possible. Best day of my life.
