Our Story
How We Met
Adam and Mara both went to Bradley University in Peoria, IL. One would think that would be where they met, but alas...it was not. Many years after they both graduated, Adam found Mara online and told her that she "looked familiar." They talked online nearly daily, and then decided to get together. Their first date was December 17, 2004. The rest, as they say, is history.
The Proposal
...from her perspective
Adam and I got engaged on July 11, 2008 at our favorite sushi restaurant. I never, in a million years, thought I'd have a "cool" engagement story, but lo and behold, I do!
On July 10, Adam sent me an email that said "Matt (a friend) and his girlfriend are joining us for sushi tomorrow night, so I got us a tea room." I didn't think anything of it. That day, Adam went to a Cubs game with work, and called on his way home to say that Matt had gotten way too drunk to come to dinner, but the restaurant was going to charge us $20 to cancel the tea room reservation, so why don't we just use it? Still, I didn't think anything of it.
When we got to the sushi place, we were led to the very last tea room, and it was already set with beautiful plates, chopsticks on tiny pink paper cranes, and water in wine glasses. I still thought nothing of it, and assumed that this is what they're doing in the tea rooms now.
We had a great dinner (as always), and Adam was very anxious and not himself. He blamed it on not eating enough during the day and having a few too many at the game. After dinner, the maitre 'd came in with a HUGE platter of fruit and cheesecake and said that it was a thank-you for being such loyal customers for 3 years (we go every friday). There was a whole pineapple on the plate, and the pineapple had a handle on it. Adam opened it up, and my ring was inside!! He got on one knee, and said "I love you, will you marry me?" I of course, started crying and said yes! The host came back in with a huge bouquet of gladiolas for me, and the whole restaurant applauded when we left.
I came to find out that night that Adam had been in cahoots with my dad, a jeweler, for months. He had my dad design and make my ring, and my dad helped him get a beautiful diamond. My mom had known for months too! Adam later told me that the time he "went to the bathroom" during dinner, he was really going over details with the sushi chef, our waitress, and host. The waitress did have to come in a ton of times... and the sushi chef did smile really big when we walked in.
