Weddingbee

Part I 

After my facial, the manager told me to keep my robe on because I had another stop to go to. She walked me upstairs and through what has to be the nicest and most luxurious gym I’ve ever seen in my life, and led me to the women’s locker room.

When I walked in, my friends Elle and Young were sitting there waiting for me (cue more tears)! They also had all of my makeup with them (how? magic??) AND a Victoria’s Secret box - with a new set of underwear. I was given instructions to take a shower and freshen up. After I reapplied my makeup and got all ready for the rest of the day, Elle and Young gave me my next clue.

Location 6: Third Floor Cafe

The Clue was, “When you wake up from your rest, go to where a 3rd became a 1st and order a coffee”

I couldn’t figure this one out and Elle and Young refused to give me any tips. I finally decided that it had to be at a Starbucks since it was coffee related and I associated the “1st” with “a buck” from Starbucks. So we started heading to where we thought was a Starbucks location. Then all of a sudden, I saw my brother Jason with Dan and Charlie standing there in the middle of the street in front of Third Floor Cafe. I was shocked to see them there, especially because my brother specifically said that he was golfing that day with his friends in NJ. So what were they doing all the way out here in NYC?

The guys seemed surprised to see me too. They asked me what I was doing there. I wasn’t sure if they knew about all that was going on, and I guess I felt weird jumping up and down and saying “Guess what guys? I’m in the process of getting engaged!”, so I just told them I was on a scavenger hunt and that I needed to find a Starbucks. They said that they had gone golfing and decided to come out to the city just to eat at Third Floor, and asked me if we were interested in coming up with them. We went up, got a table and started chatting. I asked the guys if they had fun golfing and my brother said, “Yeah it was fun, wanna check out my score?” Then he reached into his pocket to get his golf score, but instead he pulled out a clue! He was playing dumb the whole time!

I was so shocked I started crying yet again, as my brother made fun of how gullible I was to actually believe that he traveled to NYC from NJ just to eat at Third Floor Cafe, which isn’t even a restaurant. It’s actually the place where Mr. Martini and I were first introduced to each other during a happy hour (It was very brief and I never thought I’d see him again). Shortly after, unbeknownst to me, a mutual friend set us up at a group wine tasting trip in Long Island, and the rest is history. So the clue, “where the 3rd became a 1st” is Third Floor Cafe, since that is the first place we met. Mr. Martini wanted me to order a coffee to wake myself up after the massage/facial/the day’s events, but we found out that they don’t even serve coffee (cafe? not serve coffee??). So we settled for a drink and toasted to the events to come as I read my next clue.

(me with all my previous clues)

Location 7: Hugo Boss

“Find the time to circle back to the building with two giants. Find the person in charge of the store in charge“

After spending a little bit of time at Third Floor Cafe, Elle and Young left me with the boys who led me to Hugo Boss at Columbus Circle. This clue was easy because we’ve been to this store plenty of times since it’s Mr. Martini’s favorite. I was to go to the manager of the store. After I introduced myself to her, she took me to the dressing room where there were two dresses hanging inside. She then brought over MY shoes - shoes that I had been looking everywhere for just the day before; shoes that I had no idea that Mr. Martini had stolen them without my knowledge just for today’s occasion. She instructed me to try on both dresses and to pick one. I was so confused and wasn’t sure what to do! So I sheepishly tried on both dresses and settled for the blue one, which I later found was the dress Mr. Martini picked out for me. The other dress was chosen by the manager as a backup just in case I didn’t like the one he chose. When I got changed, everyone gestured for me to hurry up and come out, so I slowly walked out…. to find Mr. Martini standing in the store.

I had been waiting ALL day to see him, and when I finally did I burst into tears. We hugged, enjoyed the moment, and then he handed me another envelope. All the previous envelopes were sealed with wax and his stamped initials. This one was sealed with a stamped heart. I thought this was the end but it wasn’t! The letter contained my next clue.

Location 8: Park Avenue Spring

“You and I are meant to last forever, but other things change with the seasons… Like dinner. It’s time for a taste of Spring on 63rd and Park Ave”.

We celebrated Valentine’s Day earlier in the year at Park Avenue Winter. Park Avenue Restaurant completely changes their menu and decor for each of the four seasons. We loved Park Avenue Winter so much that we wanted to go back for Spring, Summer and Fall. He chose this restaurant to show that although things may change over time, our love will remain constant. Dinner was amazing and just as good as Winter, if not better. Once dinner was over, the waiter handed me yet another clue!

Location 9: Wicked

The clue read, “It’s important for people to understand each other because there are always 2 sides to every story. What one person thinks is eeevil might not be “wicked” to another”.

We were off to see the broadway show “Wicked”. I had always wanted to see this show and I was excited to finally be able to watch it! Unfortunately, since I had such a long day consisting of alcoholic drinks on and off since 10 am that morning, I actually fell asleep for a small portion of the show.

Location 10: Carriage Ride Through Central Park

After the show, Mr. Martini walked me to a horse and carriage, which took us around Central Park. It was something I’ve always wanted to do but never got a chance to, so I was pretty excited. I knew that the end of the night (and the beginning of our life together) was approaching soon, so I did my best to enjoy the peaceful quiet of the park. All of a sudden, the carriage stopped….

Location 11: Gapstow Bridge.

Mr. Martini walked me over to this bridge. He tried to explain the history of the bridge and why he brought me there, but honestly I was too excited and nervous to really hear what he was saying. We finally approached the bridge, then stopped. Standing in the middle of the bridge was a homeless man, talking to himself. We waited for a few minutes, but he wouldn’t leave. In fact, I soon realized that he was actually talking to someone who was hiding behind the bridge on the other side! The homeless man was asking the person if he/she was Yoko Ono (no joke, I swear). Tired of waiting for the homeless man to leave when it became clear that he had no intention of going away any time soon, Mr. Martini finally decided to go forward with the plan and walked me to the top of the bridge….. and there he got down on one knee and proposed.

All of a sudden I saw flashes going off in the night. The person hiding behind the bridge was taking pictures of us! Then the homeless man walked up to us and started talking to us. He asked us if we thought he looked like a vampire, then he HISSED at us and bared his teeth! Way to ruin a proposal, buddy. Very interesting moment, I must say. I found out later that the “Yoko Ono” hiding behind the bridge was none other than my friend Helen, and that homeless man… well… it was definitely not planned, but he sure did make everything that much more memorable… I guess? lol.

Location 12: The Volstead

We were finally engaged! I spent the entire day with wonderful friends, family and the love of my life, and we were finally engaged at 11:45 PM on May 24, 2008. I thought the night was over, but it wasn’t. He quickly walked me over a few blocks to The Volstead, where all of our friends were waiting (for a couple of hours actually) to celebrate with us! I was sooooo shocked. I’ve never hugged so many people and cried so much in my life. I have never felt so lucky and I will never forget this day for as long as I live.

The surprise didn’t end there. I found out later that during the day, Mr. Martini was following me around the city the entire time. He paid the bill at brunch and watched me open my first letter. He was there in the museum placing clues about 5 minutes before I got there. He was there across the street from the Disney store. He was at the nail salon, and he was taking a shower and getting changed in the same building while I was getting my massage and facial. He met with each of our friends just before I saw them to give them the clue and to make sure everything was going according to plan. Apparently, there were even some very close calls where I almost ran into him a couple of times…. but I was completely clueless and never once saw him. He put so much effort into making this day soooo perfect and I will forever love him for it! It was truly the most amazing day of my life.

• Would You Get One?
• What, No Coconut Cake?!