Once Upon a Time in Berlin….
It was a sunny day in April, and Ciaran and I were enjoying a little spring holiday in Berlin. I’ll be honest, I saw it coming. Not because my female intuition is so amazing and powerful (it’s not) but because I’d accidentally seen an e-mail in Ciaran’s inbox that he’d rearranged our trip to Dusseldorf for another day. He also begged me not to ask questions, and for once I kept my mouth shut 😀
Yet, beside being a little tense, I felt quite confused that whole day. We went to check out the Berlin wall, explored the Eastern Block area and even did some groceries! I’m not going to pretend I remember the day well, it was 6 years ago after all! What I do remember is being very tired in the evening and having no interest in going out again.
But Ciaran begging me to just go along with it. So I followed him down into the underground, where we took a train to the outskirts of the city. Then up a pitch black hill with no street lights in sight…
Finally, we came upon a little building at the top of the hill. It was an observatory. Ciaran tried the door but it was dead shut. After some persistent knocking on our part an elderly man peered out and said in angry German that the observatory was closed. You’d think nighttime would be their busy time!
By that point, I had no idea what was going on. My boyfriend looked really stressed, and I had no idea how to make it better. Back down the hill we went, around the corner, and there in full view was a Planetarium, all lit up! Ciaran dragged me inside and announced we were still in time for the last show! Just magic, right?
My Most Embarrassing Moment
The show began promptly, a German lady was telling us all about the lunar and solar eclipse. And now comes a really embarrassing moment for me. I really struggled to make out what she was saying about sun eclipses through her thick German accent. So when Ciaran started fumbling beside me in the dark and trying to tell me something while going down on one knee I literally told him to get back into his seat and stop ruining the show for everyone else! An agonizing minute later the presenter got to the actual eclipse, when the Moon *almost* blocks out the Sun. At this point for only about 10 seconds you see the beautiful halo around the Moon – also known as “The Diamond Ring”. The lights in the Planetarium came back on, Ciaran went down on one knee, and it all finally clicked! He wasn’t ruining the show for everyone after all, the show was just for us 😀
I did say yes, eventually. The rest as they say is history.
Surprise Proposal in Dublin, Howth
Don’t you love proposal stories? After our own ridiculous-sweet-funny-crazy experience, I love asking my couples how they got engaged. But with Madison and Zack I didn’t have to ask, I was there to capture it!
Zack messaged me me back in September about doing a surprise proposal in Dublin. The way he spoke about his girlfriend totally melted my heart. They are high school sweethearts, and have been in love for 8 years. While Zack apparently drives everyone crazy with his Italian heritage, Madison has always dreamed about connecting with her Irish roots. So this autumn they planned a very special trip, to both Ireland and Italy. For as long as Zack has known Madison was the one (and it didn’t take him long to realise it!), his biggest goal has been to propose to her in Ireland.
Madison had her suspicions, as she revealed to me afterwards 🙂 They’d talked about getting married before, so it wasn’t the question of whether but rather when and where. On that day, she put on Zack’s favourite yellow jumper that she always said she’d get engaged in! But I’m sure nothing could have prepared them for the incredible beauty of Howth that Zack picked as his ideal spot for his surprise proposal in Dublin. Nor could they plan the perfect sunset that was there to celebrate with them.
After I came up to the guys to say hi and congratulate them, Madison couldn’t stop laughing and giggling. It was so sweet! She says it was all the nervous energy and build up being realised. But I think it was actually the idea of spending a lifetime with this amazing guy who gave her a fairytale. And Zack? Zack just couldn’t stop looking at his best friend, the girl who makes him the best version that he could ever be.
I know you too have an amazing proposal story. Will you share?
