We had been dating for almost seven years when Mr. Margarita decided to propose. I knew we were getting close to an engagement when Mr. Margarita suggested our families meet. Though our parents had casually met before at our college graduation, we arranged a formal meeting of the families over dinner at my brother’s house. As I’m sure it is with many cultures, the approval and general happiness of our families was a huge factor in our future together. Neither set of parents had expressed any major concerns about the fact that we were of different cultures and religions so I was mostly nervous about how the families would interact. My mom is loud, vivacious but my Dad is very quiet, soft spoken and generally prefers to do his own thing. Well it turns out that his family is very much the same way so it worked out well. The moms gabbed all night while the dads sat on the couch being entertained by my older brother.
Fast forward about six months. After going on numerous interviews across the country, Mr. Margarita was anxiously awaiting his medical school match day. Match day was the day when he would find out where he was doing his internship and residency for the next five years. Match day is on the third Thursday of March each year and also happened to be on the day of our anniversary. We both thought it would be better to postpone our anniversary celebration so we could focus on the excitement of his match. Mr. Margarita told me to plan to celebrate the following Wednesday night and that he would take care of all the plans.
Wednesday night came around and I drove to Boston after a long day at work with literally no idea of what was to come. Mr. Margarita promptly whisked me away in a cab to Boston’s North End and we pulled up to the same restaurant we went to on our first date. We had a romantic dinner and despite Mr. Margarita’s incredibly nervous behavior when the waiter took his coat (which had the ring hidden in it), I remained oblivious. After dinner we picked up some canolis at Mike’s Pastry (yum!) and took a stroll through the Boston commons. I blame it on the incredibly cold night, but I didn’t even realize we were walking towards the exact same bench we had sat on seven years prior. We sat down and Mr. Margarita gently reminded me that was where we sat on our first date, how far we had come and how he’d love to spend the rest of his life with me. It was literally not until that moment when he made a move to get down on one knee and I saw him pull the ring box out that I realized what he was doing. In my stupor, I think I screamed something like “shuttup!” a la Elaine from Seinfeld, started crying and happily accepted.
Here’s the gorgeous ring he picked out for me (yes it’s March and Mr. M still had a fake Christmas tree up):
Mr. Margarita really put so much thought into how he proposed to me and even scouted out the exact bench we had sat on the week before. It was so sweet that he brought our long story full circle.
Has anyone else had their first date recreated for a proposal?
Our families are the same way, the mom’s are the talkers…but it cracks me up that my dad and FFIL actually talk A LOT when they are together…especially from MY dad…Who is this man? Has he secretly been chatty and I just missed it bc he is sick of being around all women???
Awww I love your story 
and your ring is GORG!
That is a super cute story! Mr. J and I have lots of great memories on benches– benches at our law school, in London when we visited, and in Chicago, where we live now. So it’s only fitting he proposed while we sat on a bench. And your ring is SO pretty!!!
Very beautiful ring =) My parents are the same way. My mom was the loud one (she blames it on being from New York) and my dad is the more quiet, reserved one - won’t speak unless spoken to first. I knew my husband was the one because from day one he didn’t let my dad’s quietness get in the way. They both love cars and it’s funny seeing them talk together. I can relate to Cannotwait’s comment. I look at my dad when he’s with my husband and ask the same thing! Anyways, cute story!
Aww, cute. My husband proposed on the same bench we sat at along the tidal basin in DC the week we started dating!
He’s lucky he proposed to me BEFORE match day, otherwise I would have said no — I’m still pissed at him that he did not even try to rank any schools in my area at the top of his residency list, thereby ensuring that we will be living apart for 3-4 years of marriage while I finish my Ph.D.! (And then telling me that I have no choice but to do a post-doc where he is, because it would be “so selfish” of me to look elsewhere and put my career before our marriage… ha!)
No re-created first date for us, but I definitely was just as oblivious about my fiance’s nervousness and just started repeating “ohmygodohmygodohmygod” when he was down on his knee!
@cleanmeup - thanks! its not a yellow diamond, the second picture is just a little blurry so it looks that way.
@cannotwait & MrsTirado - aren’t men funny like that? my dad is always pulling mr. m aside for long talks and it just cracks me up.
@Mrs. Jasmine & julieulie - i’m glad i’m not alone in thinking that benches can be very romantic spots
My fiance proposed at the place where we first SAW each other. I first saw him when I was moving into my old college apartment in Bloomington, IN (I went to IU). So on 7/8/07, he took me back to the front steps of my old apartment and took a picture of me. When he handed me the camera to look at the picture he had taken, instead of seeing myself in the picture, I saw my ring (he had previously taken a picture of it and stored the pic in his camera)! Then he got down on one knee. It was perfect!!
By the way, our rings look VERY similar! Similar engagement stories, similar rings… maybe we’re secretly marrying the same man! Lol. Congratuations!
My FI proposed to me in the same spot that we shared our first kiss when we were 16.
We were childhood/high school sweethearts but didn’t stay together throughout. We started dating again during the spring semester of my senior year of college.
Anyway, in order to get me in the area of our first kiss without me thinking why, he said we were going to pick up an old friend of his who lived in the neighborhood. While passing “the spot” he pretended to loose something, so I turned around to the back seat to find it. While I was preoccupied, he pulled into the spot and asked me to check the glove box. Inside there was a beautiful Christmas card (it was three days before Christmas) He asked me to read it out loud. By the time I got to the end, he had pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him. He said I gave the most enthusiastic “Yes!” I couldn’t have asked for a better proposal!
What a beautiful story. I’m from NH and we go down to the North End any chance we get.
Your story brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing it!
Oh Miss Margarita - what a great story! Yours reminds me a lot of my fiance and I: we started dating when we were in our freshman year at college, at 18 years old … plus when he proposed (just 10 days after YOUR engagement) I also cried “Shut UP!!” several times!
Awwww… so sweet!! I love that he took the time to plan it all out to mirror your first date.
Your ring is BEAUTIFUL!
What a lovely way to bring everything full circle.
I’m glad I’m not the only one to shout at their FH, “shut up!”…so romantic.
Yup. Our first date was my senior prom, and I had a work function there in November. At the end of the evening, Mr. MagPie took me up to the balcony and proposed! Needless to say, he caught me offguard!
Cute story! Um, I hope my boyfriend doesnt recreate our first date whe he proposes, because it was definitely at taco bell
Aww…Your proposal story is adorable! And your ring is gorgeous! The cannoli’s at Mike Pastries are so delicious!
Beautiful ring - congrats! My fiance proposed at the restaurant where we had our first - blind - date, exactly two years before. Almost at the same table! It was perfect! And I didn’t suspect a thing!
Aw, what a lovely story. Congratulations
Very sweet of Mr. M and a lovely ring to boot!
My FI didn’t recreate our first date. He recreated our first trip. Our first trip was to a little B&B in Tofino 10 years ago (yes, we’ve been together a long time and and I’ve enjoyed every second of it). The little B&B no longer operates so he took me to a nice intimate resort and proposed on the beach at sunset. Thank goodness he chose to propose during summer and not winter like our first trip. Brrr
so very beautiful!
our rings are very similiar too! i have an awful time photographing mine as well…all i get are blurs.
my FI also recreated our first date. he proposed at the very table in the very restaurant. i was clueless bc he did it New Years Eve and we have kept up the tradition of going to this exact restaurant each New Years. I think i uttered “Seriously?” as my very first response, lol…..
Miss Margarita, Boston/Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 26, Healthcare Consultant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Doctor
Engagement Date: March 21, 2007
Wedding Date: August, 2008
Blogging Since: June 18, 2008
Venue: Saddlerock Ranch
About Me: I grew up in Southern California, moved to Boston for college, New York for grad school, back to Boston and now I travel the northeast every week for work. When I'm not on the go, I love to read, draw, shop, sleep and spend quality time with my fiancé, family and friends. We're long-distance planning for our "big fat brown wedding" in California and are excited to unite our Sri Lankan and Indian cultures and Buddhist and Hindu religions in a unique and modern way.
your ring is beautiful…
Is it a yellow diamond?