After tricking me and taking me to Paris (instead of Arizona), Jason surprised me again. On the very last night of the trip, he had a driver pick me up and take me to a fancy dress shop in Paris to pick out any dress in the store. The car then took me to the Isle de la Cite (an island on the Seine River, in the middle of Paris), where Jason was waiting in a suit and tie. Read the full story below all the pictures. 🙂
Jason, waiting for me to arrive.
Watching me walk up
I gave him a huge hug right when I walked up and said ‘I’ve been missing you!’
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About to get down on one knee. I couldn’t believe this was happening. 🙂
‘Will you marry me?’
I said ‘Yes!!!’. I was so excited, I forgot to even look at the ring.
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Once he lifted me off the ground, Jason saw the ring box still in his hand. He put me down and said, ‘You haven’t even looked at the ring yet!!’
Jason, showing me the ring.
I completely lost my breath when he showed me the ring. Jason spoils me like no one I’ve ever known. I still cannot believe he gave me that ring.
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Jason, putting the ring on my finger.
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Lizzie’s Version:
After tricking me and taking me to Paris instead of Arizona, Jason was still not done with the surprises.
We had an amazing time exploring the city for four or five days. On the very last day, Saturday, April 23rd, Jason nonchalantly suggested a couple things we could do our last evening in Paris. They sounded super casual, leading me to believe that we would just do something chill and then leave early the next morning. I did NOT think he was going to propose.
That afternoon, we went to see the Rodin Museum. When we got back to the hotel, Jason handed the cab driver his credit card. “No card!”, the cab driver said. “Well, I’ve got to go to the ATM up the street then”, Jason said. The cab driver was visibly ticked off. Jason had me go inside while he went to get cash.
A few minutes later I got a phone call. In a panic, Jason told me that he was having issues with the cab driver. The ATM machine had eaten his card and the driver was upset. “Oh my gosh! No way!! I can bring you my card!” I said. I rushed downstairs, ran outside and stopped. Jason was nowhere to be found. Confused, I looked around, but there was no sign of him anywhere. (Apparently, he was in a phone booth filming the entire thing.)
Two seconds later, the darling girl from the front desk came running after me, saying, “Mademoiselle! Madamoiselle!” I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me until she handed me a folded note. I opened it up.
It read: “Lizzie, I will meet you by my favorite tree at 7:30pm. Have fun tonight. Love, Jason”
I was so confused. I looked around, still didn’t see Jason, and asked her, “But where’s Jason?” She smiled and said, “You go in this car, Mademoiselle” while pointing to a black Mercedes. I just started laughing. I knew something was up. There was some guy in a suit holding the door open for me. “Hello Mademoiselle, my name is Kristoff”, he said. “You come this way, Mademoiselle”. I was just kind of laughing and smiling and pretty flustered all at once. At that point I knew something was definitely up.
Completely flustered and giddy, and laughing at the whole situation, I got in the car and we drove off. Soon, we stopped and Kristoff opened the door for me saying, “You come this way with me, Mademoiselle!”. Motioning me towards a building, I looked up. All I saw was this super tall door of a big huge couture dress shop. I about died. There were two big doormen in black suits on either side of the door. There was the darling shop manager in a black dress who welcomed me in. “You get to pick out a new outfit or dress, Mademoiselle! You choose anything in our shop you want. You get to have anything you want.” I just started laughing and about died, again. I couldn’t believe Jason did all this.
I’d never been in a shop like that. I didn’t even know what to do. The shop was full of gorgeous, designer gowns, shoes and accessories. The woman had me look around and pick out some things to try on. She brought me up to this gigantic dressing room with this gorgeous, contemporary sitting room outside of it and said, “You treat this like your own bedroom”. Oh my gosh. It felt like a fairy tale.
I had picked out a few dresses and a skirt to try on. The dresses were just gorgeous, but the skirt had stood out to me. The second I saw it, I just lit up and knew I definitely wanted to try it on. It was made out of fuchsia colored silk and was just gorgeous. I tried on several dresses and then the skirt. I completely fell in love. When we checked out, the shop owner told me that it was one of a kind – made by that designer exclusively for that particular shop in Paris. That skirt is definitely out of my league!
Kristoff then drove me over to the Isle de la Cite, an island in the middle of the Seine river. It is connected to the oldest bridge in Paris and called the “heart of Paris”. On the very tip of the island, there is a tree that Jason had mentioned he really liked when we’d gone there earlier in the week. “That’s the tree!”, I realized. I’d been too flustered to remember what tree he could have been talking about until Kristoff pulled the car up to that bridge.
I walked down to the garden part of the island and then walked around to the point. I saw Jason standing there in a suit and just got a huge smile on my face. I walked up to him and started laughing. “I can’t believe you did all of this! You’re in so much trouble!”, I said. I gave him a huge hug and told him I’d been missing him.
He got down on one knee and proposed. “Lizzie. I love you. I’m lucky to have you. Will you marry me?”.
I said “Yes!”
A few minutes later, Jason pointed out a hidden professional photographer and someone in the crowd who had filmed the entire thing on his iPhone. I cannot tell you how excited I was. I had always wanted someone to get pictures of the day I got engaged. I couldn’t believe Jason organized all of this.
Afterwards, we got back in the car with Kristoff and he took us to a big boat. Jason had booked a fancy dinner cruise for us! We boarded the boat and just smiled, talked, ate dinner and celebrated our engagement. I have never been so happy.
We ended the evening by going on a midnight walk around the city. Jason told me some of the most hilarious stories that he couldn’t tell me until then. Jason’s proposal was literally like a fairy tale. I couldn’t stop smiling and still can’t. I love this boy feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
Jason’s Version:
My plan was to propose on April 23. How? I really had no idea. I kept reminding myself that I wanted it to be really special and unforgettable for Lizzie while also being hilariously spontaneous and fun. April 23rd is my grandmother’s birthday. She passed away just three weeks before our trip to Paris. My grandmother meant a lot to me so I wanted to honor her by getting engaged on her birthday.
I had the engagement ring hidden away in my bag and I thought that Lizzie would for sure be checking my bag for the ring while I was in the shower or out of the room. As Lizzie and I explored Paris, I was looking for a particular location to speak to me, to tell me this is definitely the spot where you should propose. I kept an open mind. Earlier in the week, we walked to the Love Lock bridge, a romantic spot in Paris where lovers write their names on a type of lock and attach it to the bridge. Afterwards, you throw the lock’s key into the river. As we threw the key into the river, I noticed a really interesting island downstream and asked Lizzie if we could go check it out.
The placards on the way to the island designated the place as the “Ile de la Citie” and the tip of the island as the “Vert Galant.” The island is called the heart of Paris as it is on the Seine River in the center of the city and the location of where the medieval city was refounded. We learned that the Roman Empire occupied the island, the Vikings attacked it, Henry IV pursued his future Queens there, Jacques de Molay – the Grand Master of the Knights Templar was burnt at the stake there, and that all road distances in France are calculated from the 0 km point located on the island. The island is beautiful. We walked to the tip of the island and at the very edge stands a weeping willow tree. I made a point of telling Lizzie how much I loved the weeping willow tree. It spoke to me. This is the spot.
On the morning of April 23rd, I got up early and talked to the girl at the front desk, Marne, about my proposal. I asked her to help me set everything up and she happily agreed. I asked if there was any way that I could get a limo or private car to take Lizzie from the hotel to the Ile de la Citie. She knew a friend who would be able to do it. His name was Kristoff. I laughed. Of course that’s his name. I then asked if there was any way that she could help me find a really cool dress shop in the fashion district of Paris that the driver could take Lizzie to before he brings her to the Ile de la Citie. Marne got really excited and started searching the internet for the perfect dress shop. Finally, I asked if there were any dinner cruises or shows that we could go to after the proposal. I was recommended to go to the Moulin Rouge, but instead opted for a dinner cruise on the Seine River. We set everything in motion and planned on having the driver meet me at the hotel at 5:45 pm.
Ok, I felt like I had a solid plan. I had a professional photographer waiting for me on the Ile de la Citie at 7:15 pm, a driver taking Lizzie to the dress shop followed by the island, the engagement ring, and a plan for an after engagement dinner.
This was our last day in Paris. We had yet to go see the Eiffel Tower, so Lizzie and I left to go see the last remaining sights in Paris. I wore shorts and a t-shirt to throw Lizzie off the possibility of a proposal. We had a great time at the Eiffel Tower, walking around Paris, and ending up at the Rodin museum. It was getting close to proposal time. We were still at the Rodin museum at 5:30 pm and I wanted to get us moving to go back to the hotel. I told Lizzie that I wanted to go back to the hotel. She was confused. “Why?” she asked. It was clear that she didn’t want to go back. I told her that I had a business call that I needed to make before the day ended. I don’t know if she bought it all the way due to the questioning glare she responded with, but we got in a taxi and left the museum headed to our hotel.
When the taxi arrived at the hotel, I handed the driver my debit card. The driver snapped back at me, “No card! Only cash!” Being a criminal of opportunity, I knew that this was a perfect set up. I told Lizzie that she could get out of the car and go to the room while I went to an ATM to get money to pay the taxi driver. Lizzie happily obliged. I went to the ATM, paid the taxi driver, and walked back to the hotel. The front desk was in a panic. “You are late! You are late!” they shouted at me when I walked in. “Yeah, I know… sorry, let’s get this going!” I responded. I was introduced to Kristoff, the private driver, and ensured he understood exactly what was going on. In a tremendous act of faith, I then handed Kristoff my credit card and told him to not let Lizzie see it. I told Kristoff to let her get whatever she wants at the dress shop and put it on the credit card without Lizzie knowing. I then wrote a note on hotel stationary to Lizzie asking her to meet me by my favorite tree at 7:30 pm and to have fun. I gave the note to Marne at the front desk and was confident that the plan was going to be epic.
I then called our room from the front desk. Lizzie picked up immediately. “Baby, there’s a problem with the driver. The ATM ate my card and this guy is furious. Could you come down?” I said. Lizzie responded, “Oh my gosh, baby. I’m so sorry. I’ll be down there right away.” I hid in the lobby phone booth and videoed the event on my iPhone. Lizzie ran down the stairs and out the door before Marne at the front desk had a chance to give her my note. I thought that I saw Lizzie take a left turn and run down the street! Marne clumsily got out from behind the front desk, waving my note in her hand, and shouting, “Madamoiselle! Madamoiselle!” as Lizzie was down the street.
Marne walked back in to the hotel and I asked her, “Did you catch her?” expecting that Lizzie had sprinted to the ATM and I would have to go find her. Marne smiled and responded calmly, “yes, everything is perfect.” “She got in the car?” I asked. “Yes, she is gone now,” was Marne’s response. Huh. Well, that turned out pretty well, I thought to myself. I thanked Marne and then went upstairs to change into my suit and get the ring.
I walked outside the hotel to get a taxi to the island. When I got in, the driver said, “who are you supposed to be.. James Bond?” “Dude, you are feeding my ego and I love it.” I walked to the island , videoing my thoughts along the way with my iPhone. I got down to the island and met up with Lindsey, the expat photographer from Denver. Lindsey was super cool and positioned me to where the best photos could be taken. I assumed that I would be essentially under the weeping willow tree, but Lindsey suggested that we move out a few feet from the tree. The island was scattered with art loving Parisians, drinking wine and eating snacks. Definitely more people than I wanted or intended.
Lindsey asked, “When is Lizzie going to be here?” I spun around towards the bridge, instinctively, to answer her question and I saw Lizzie standing in the park above me, talking to two old men. I was shocked. “Lindsey, she’s… well, she’s right there” I responded. Lizzie was separated from us by a fence and she appeared as though she was not going to acknowledge my presence so as not to ruin the surprise.
Surprised, Lindsey ran back to her designated photography location and I stood there watching Lizzie backtrack through the park. I saw Lizzie turn the corner and walk alongside the long, narrow path by the river towards me. I took out my phone and handed it to a Parisian that looked friendly. I said, “What’s your name?” He responded, “Tobias.” “Tobias, will you videotape?” I asked as I handed him the phone. Tobias looked at me with a measure of rudeness, “you want me to videotape you?” I laughed, thinking that he thought I handed him my phone and asked him to videotape me solo. I opened up the ring box and motioned to him that I was going to propose. Tobias understood right away and his attitude changed to one of welcomed assistance.
Lizzie quickly walked up to me. She was smiling and bouncing. She hugged me right away and I prepared to get on one knee. At that moment, two bystanders walked right next to us and stood there, looking for a spot to put their blanket down. These two bystanders were directly in the line of sight of the photographer. I asked them to move, took Lizzie’s items out of her hands and got on one knee. I opened the ring box and asked Lizzie to marry me.
She said, Yes!
More pictures and video to be added soon! xoxo
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