The Day Of - Jon's Point of View

It’s May 27th, 2012. In the wee hours of a Sunday morning, an iPhone alarm goes off at exactly 4 am…

Sharon and I were already mildly awake at this point, accustomed to getting up at 5:30 am for my daily Amtrak departure to Berkeley. Although today, it was more difficult for me to crawl out of bed and get moving (even after a strong cup of coffee). Unbeknownst to Sharon – like many things this day – I had been pre-emptively taking Dramamine for our surprise plans on Monday: a day trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Santa Clarita, California. Ironically, this sedative-like drug was useless, as we would never make it to the theme park.

During the next 90 minutes, we showered, dressed, ate a light breakfast, gathered our camera gear, finished packing, watered the plants, and refilled the cats’ food bowls. Out the door at 5:25 am. We were five minutes ahead of schedule and off to SMF airport in Sacramento for our 7 am flight to LAX. In the pocket of my pants, tucked inside my credit card (money) clip wallet, I had the most important thing I have ever owned: Sharon’s engagement ring.

It wasn’t until we caught the shuttle bus at exactly 6 am that I realized how slowly I drove to the airport. Typically a 20-minute drive, the stupid Dramamine had me moving at a turtle’s pace that morning. Even the anticipation of the day’s events wasn’t enough to get the blood flowing. But after a decent nap during our flight, I felt much better.

We arrived at LAX on time, quickly rented our car, and found the highways nearly empty on our way to Pasadena for brunch. Sadly, I was in no hurry to get to the Huntington Gardens, which opened at 10:30 am (and closed at 4:30 pm). Our surprise engagement photo shoot was set to start at exactly 3 pm. This meant that I had to keep us moving quite slowly throughout the day such that we wouldn’t finish our visit too early. So how would I do this? Bathroom breaks! Oh, the beauty of a Camelbak.

Sharon picked out a place for lunch, the Corner Bakery. Apparently, she never got around to trying the place out when she lived in Pasadena, which was unfortunate for her. The food was truly amazing! I left a happy camper, caffeinated and full of the necessary diuretic.

A stone’s throw away from the café, we arrived at the Huntington Garden at 10:40 am, ten minutes after it opened. Sharon was clearly excited and a bit perturbed with my sluggishness. We headed to the Members window where our free passes had been left by Natalie Russell, a friend of Sharon’s who worked there. Except the passes weren’t there. Although the gentlemen let us in anyways, this incident left me a bit worried. Natalie was also going to secretly leave a third pass for Mark. [Uh oh, things are already falling apart. Surely, Murphy has it in for me today!].

Time for bathroom break #1. I quickly sent an email regarding the missing passes to Mark and Christine (the Huntington employee supervising our photo shoot and my direct contact). I also checked the TripAssist Smartphone App. Thankfully, Mark’s flight from Washington to Burbank was right on schedule, which meant he should be arriving at the Huntington around 1:30 pm to scope out the target proposal locations at the Lily Ponds and Desert Garden. Mind you, Mark was also running on a couple hours of sleep, since he finished photographing a wedding around 11 pm the night before.

Our first destination was the Japanese Garden, the furthest site from the entrance. Sharon and I previously agreed to start here during our planning discussion a couple weeks prior to our visit. And we had to enter from the south side – Sharon’s rule. We spent around an hour at the Japanese Garden, checking out the bonsai trees, zen garden, and relaxing by the pond while gazing at the picturesque bridge. I took numerous photos, not only because the site was absolutely serene, but also to keep us moving at a nice slow pace.

Our next stops were the Chinese Garden followed by the Conservatory. Both sites were also fantastic, yet time seemed to fly, even with my attempts to photograph as much as possible. Clearly, we needed another break. While in the men’s room, I turned on the Glympse app on my phone and sent Mark our GPS location. It was approximately 1:30, and I was hoping Mark was already here. I also knew that Sharon probably wasn’t that hungry given our brunch a few hours earlier.

Upon exiting the restroom, we discussed our options and decided to head through the Rose Garden back to the Japanese Garden where we could sit down, snack a bit, and just relax near the pond. That is exactly what happened, and we even fell asleep for a bit while lying in the shade. Having to burn nearly an hour (I set a target time of 3 pm for heading to the lily ponds), our naps turned out to be a lifesaver for me. I awoke before Sharon, thanks to a vibrating phone in my pocket. It was Mark (which I sneakily verified without waking Sharon). He had sent me his GPS location along with a text verifying that the southern bench at the Lily Ponds was an excellent site to photograph a proposal. The Desert Garden – as he suspected given its winding paths and sporadic enclosures – was going to be quite a challenge for him without compromising the surprise.

I needed a few minutes to think, to reply to Mark, and to get the ring out of my wallet and ready to go. Off to the stalls for break #3. Sharon was awake by now and decided to finish her sandwich from brunch while I scampered off, trail mix bar in hand. It was 2:45 pm. The engagement shoot was about to officially start. I sent Mark a text informing him we were on our way.

Arriving at the Lily Ponds, Sharon immediately began searching for her friends, the turtles. What luck! Smack in the middle and partially covered by a few lilies was papa turtle. Sharon snapped a few photos. I did not. My mind was elsewhere, going over the numerous ways I had planned on trying to get Sharon to sit on the bench at the last pond. I couldn’t ask her to stop for a break as we just finished napping. Clearly, I had already drank enough water for the day, so a hydration break was not going to work. Another idea that I had was to ask Sharon to set up her camera for a photo of the two of us, except that idea had vanished while in the moment. Crap! Sharon was already briskly heading to the next few ponds, about ten yards ahead of me. There goes my idea of holding her hand as we approached the bench area. Just as I caught up to her, I noticed someone straight ahead peak around the bamboo trees. It was Mark. I started shaking.

Sharon says that some higher power must have been on my side that day. I claim it was destiny…

There, in the center of the last pond, was mama turtle. And lo and behold, baby turtle as well! I knew this not because I saw them, but rather by Sharon’s gitty squeal followed by an exclamatory, “There’s a baby tuwtal too!!!’ She hastily ran over to the bench (yes!), set her purse and camera down, and snatched my camera from me (she wanted to use my lens). I sat down on the bench and waited. And waited. Sharon finally came back and sat down next to me, saying something about the turtles (who knows what!). I just wrapped my arms around her, heart pounding and all, and slowly removed her sunglasses from on top of her head. Certainly, we don’t want those in the proposal photos!

I honestly can’t remember everything that transpired next. I knew I wanted to hold Sharon’s hands (with the fear that she might panic at some point and seek flight). I knew I had to speak slowly in order for Mark to capture as many photos as possible. With respect to what I wanted to say, well, yea. I had some ideas, a few materialized, although I admit it was not the most romantic speech. But in the end, I was on my knee, and Sharon was nodding her head (with her eyes shut, of course).

This would not suffice, however. I demanded a verbal answer from my oh-so-stubborn lady. She replied, “OK.” [Cupid, where are you when I need you!?] I shook my head again and asked for a better answer. And in her typical, utterly adorable voice, Sharon softly replied with a ‘yes!’

Now for the second part – the ring. I knew about Sharon’s fear, so I had left the box back home in Davis. Instead, I simply held the ring at my side and asked for her hand. Sharon stuck out her arm straight towards the ground. Clearly, that’s a horrible view for the photographer, so I politely asked her to raise her arm. I believe that, as I placed the ring on her finger, I asked her if she was wanted to see it. You see, her eyes were pressed shut again [see photos]. We hugged, and kissed. Sharon claims I had tears the entire time…

With the clock running on our engagement shoot, I wasted no time. I informed Sharon of another surprise. Her demeanor immediately became that of confusion and seriousness. I pointed straight over the pond to where a photographer was squatting, snapping photos all the while. The moment that Sharon realized it was her friend from college, she hopped off the bench and jogged towards him, letting out a boisterous “Mark!!!”

We explained everything to Sharon, went to the main entrance to freshen up, and headed back to the different gardens. For the next 2 ½ hours, the Huntington Gardens was our playground. And the photos say it all!

When 6 pm rolled around, Mark said farewell, and both Sharon and I collected ourselves on a bench. I was absolutely exhausted. Sharon looked the same. Little did she know that I had an ulterior motive for taking a rest. Mark was on his way to Bistro 45, the restaurant where Sharon and I had a 7 pm reservation. His mission: photograph Sharon when she sees that her parents are already sitting at the table waiting for us.

Twenty minutes later, it was time for bathroom break #4. I called the restaurant to verify that Mark as well as Sharon’s parents had arrived. We were good to go. Unfortunately, when the two of us arrived at the restaurant, Sharon was simply too dazed to notice her parents. Eventually she did, and then she noticed Mark hiding behind a curtain, taking photos of us through a mirror on the wall. It wasn’t pretty. Sharon was more ‘embarrassed’ than she was surprised to see her mom and dad at the table.

After Mark and Sharon said their farewells (again), the four of us enjoyed a fantastic dinner (I had the filet of beef tenderloin) complimented by the most spectacular wine I have ever had – a 1994 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon. A fitting way to end the most phenomenal day of my life…

Behind the Scenes

Planning the Proposal

Bloopers (a.k.a. The Many Ways Sharon Unknowingly Tried To Sabotage The Proposal)