JESSICA

It was the beginning of Thanksgiving break and the tests, papers, and projects were finally over. Most of my friends had already left for home when Saturday arrived. But I stayed in Pullman because Jordan’s family was in town for the OSU football game. The morning of the game we (Jordan, his family, & I) had decided to meet for breakfast at the Palouse Ridge Golf Course. Jordan picked me up by himself at my apartment around 8:30 in the morning. His brother Austin apparently had slept in which was at the time was very believable.

I wasn’t quite ready to leave when Jordan arrived, but he hurried me out the door because the plan was to meet his parents driving up from Lewiston at 8:45. Once we got to the restaurant however, Jordan called his dad to learn that they were running 20 minutes late. Frustrated by the news, we also discovered that the restaurant didn’t open until 9. With 15 minutes to kill, I stood in the hallway wishing I was back in my warm apartment finishing my cup of coffee. Jordan didn’t seem to mind at all and started talking with the two men working in the pro shop.

I wasn’t paying much attention but overheard him ask if we could take a look around the course using a golf cart. It wasn’t snowing or raining at the time, but it was 30 degrees and windy! This did not sound like a good idea and I made sure that he knew how I felt. After much convincing, I somehow agreed to go for a ride out to the 10th tee box. Once Jordan parked the cart, he immediately jumped out and started looking around everywhere like he’d never seen the Palouse hills before.

I on the other hand, refused to get out of the cart and demanded that he drive me back at once. I was not happy to say the least. Finally, he yanked me out of the cart and asked me to at least look around. I took a quick gaze then heard him call my name. When I turned around he was down on one knee with a ring in his hand. I was in total shock. He asked me to marry him and I said yes while pulling him up to give me a hug! Our time was interrupted when all the sudden I heard yelling from the bushes.

Austin was running down the hill with a video camera filming the whole proposal. The three of us drove the cart back to the restaurant where Jordan had prepared a table for just the two of us. It was decorated with rose petals and picture frames. What a fun and special day-I was so surprised!

JORDAN

The big day all started a month or so before Jess's thanksgiving break. I had been drumming up different proposal ideas for awhile and finally settled on planning to ask the big question at the Palouse Ridge Golf Course in Pullman. I had several talks with the golf course staff about my plans and the help from them that I was going to need on the big day.

It was a cold time of the year, probably averaging in the 30's but I wanted to ask her outside on the course despite the weather. I planned the weekend in Pullman to be at the beginning of her thanksgiving break when she would least expect it. My family was also planning to spend the weekend in Pullman as my brother needed to visit WSU for a student preview weekend. We planned it this way so my family could be a part of the proposal and able to spend the weekend with Jess and I.

The big weekend was finally here and the time to propose was just around the corner. I was staying at a friends house with my brother Friday night and had told Jess I was planning to pick her up for breakfast at the Palouse Ridge Restaurant the next morning.

My Dad and I had worked hard to disguise the morning of the breakfast by telling Jess the night before we were all going and it was business casual attire for the student preview weekend. I hardly slept the night before but I didn't care because the next morning I was poppin' the biggest question of my life. My brother had agreed to film the proposal bright and early the next morning as I was planning to pop the question outside on the #10 tee box. Austin and I woke up early the next morning, about 7AM, and headed to the golf course to fancy up the back dining table with roses and pictures in preparation for what would be a very romantic breakfast. I must say my brother was a soldierrrrrr for agreeing to film the proposal because it was about 35 degrees outside with a 15-20 mph windchill.

My brother and I took about an hour to set everything up and make sure the head golf professional and restaurant manager were on the same page with us. As my brother camped out in the cold up above the #10 tee box I left the course to go pick up Jess for breakfast. Jess was under the impression that we were meeting my whole family for breakfast but this was just a ploy to get her mind as far from asking me to marry her as possible. I rushed into her apartment to see if she was ready and there Jess was still getting ready, as usual. It wasn't but 15 minutes later that I finally rushed her out the door, convincing her we were late in meeting my folks for breakfast. She was a little flustered in the car because I'm pretty sure she wasn't finished getting ready to go out (are they ever "ready"?).

We showed up at the course together and I called my parents to "see where they were at". My dad said they were running late and would be there in 20-30 minutes as they had to pick up my brother who was still in the shower (ploy still!). This was the time where I told Jess we could just look around in the golf shop while waiting for my parents. As we wandered around the shop I struck up conversation with the head pro who was working the front desk. Jess had no idea but I had been plotting with him weeks before on what this particular conversation was supposed to look like. I asked the guy if he would mind Jess and I taking a golf cart out to the course as Jess and I hadn't ever seen the course. When Jess overheard me ask him if we could use a cart to go outside she turned around faster than you could blink. Apparently she was strongly opposed to this idea and let everyone in the golf shop know how she felt.

With a little tugging and convincing I was finally able to get her outside on the cart with me, headed to the #10 tee box where I'd be dropping a knee within minutes. I could see my brother camped out on the hill, freezing his butt off ready to get an epic moment on film. Jess continued her frustration and revolt by refusing to get out of the golf cart to see the view from the tee box. It too me five minutes of pulling on her to finally get her out of the cart and when she was finally out she turned her back to me out of irritation.

I thought to myself "If I don't do it now, this whole plan is going to blow up in my face". So there I went, dropping a knee on the #10 tee box waiting for my beautiful soon-to-be fiance to turn around and have to answer the most exciting question of her life.

She finally turned around. Then I told her I couldn't see myself spending the rest of my life without her and asked her if she'd spend the rest of her life with me. She hesitated, backed up for a minute, then came closer and was absolutely speechless. She gave me a huge hug and kiss and we both knew that our lives had really came together for good. My brother came howling down the hill with the video camera in hand and was able to catch everything on tape.

We then made our way into the restaurant where Jess thought we were still having breakfast with my parents. Little did she know that the back table was all set up for an amazing time alone, overlooking the golf course together. Friends and family, this was how I asked the 2nd most important person in my life to marry me.