Engagement Story (Part of the NYC Trip)

Dear family,

As most of you know, I got engaged last month. I'm sure all of you are just suffocating as you wait to hear the story of how it happened, so I'll relieve you.

Since last April, I have been dating Rachelle. We met in our BYU singles ward. With the help of both our parents, she was able to fly out to Connecticut for a few days during Christmas break. During that time, she got to finally meet my parents, something she was eager to do. She is from Highland, Utah, so I met her parents around last May or June.

During her visit, our family had the opportunity to go see some sights in New York City. I figured that that was going to be the most interesting place we would be over the break, so I decided to propose somewhere in the city. I was not sure where.

We visited places like Ground Zero, Rockefeller Center (so crowded), Stanton Island Ferry, and Times Square. I called Rachelle's father to ask for his permission while we were at the Stanton Island Ferry building. Rachelle had to use the restroom, so I took advantage of my alone time. While we walked to Times Square (my plan A spot) I handed my dad the ring to finish getting all the tags and such off of it (very sly). Once we were in Times Square I realized that I didn't want to ask Rachelle to marry me in such a busy place.

We then walked back to Grand Central Station to catch our train. I decided to ask her on a downstairs level at this cool whispering place we were at earlier in the day. I asked her to hand me my camera case that she was holding. At this point, she was cold and tired from walking everywhere. Stubbornly she refused. She didn't want to make me carry it. After a few more times of pleading with her and the fact that she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of my family, she handed over my camera. I handed it to my mom. Rachelle was so confused and said "Hey!" I took her hand and led her downstairs.

She kept asking me, "Where are we going?" I didn't know how to answer. I just avoided her questions and looked faster for the spot I wanted to go to.

If you stand on opposite sides of a particular place in the hallway, you can whisper towards the wall, and the other person can hear you across the hallway (if they are standing in the right spot as well). I said, "Hey, Rachelle, can you hear me?" Rachelle- "Yes."

Me- "I have a question for you."

Rachelle (kind of confused at this point)- "Okay."

Me- "Will you marry me?"

Rachelle- "Yes."

She turned probably to make sure I was being serious or that what she hadn't heard me wrong or so she didn't misunderstand what was happening. I walked to her and asked her more formally. Again she said yes. The rest is mostly a blur. Frankly, from the moment we left my family, I was on autopilot. I wasn't really thinking through my actions. Thankfully my body knew what to do and had taken over.

Needless to say, it was a great trip to New York City. We have set our marriage for April 26th at 9 AM in the Mt. Timpanogos temple. We'd love for everyone to make it to the reception the day before in Highland.

Thank you to everyone for the congratulations and well-wishes. They are appreciated.

Love,
Reid