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| Dreams do come true!
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It was finally August 19, 2005 and all the planning came down to this one single moment. I had so many things running through my mind and to add Julie now did not want to leave the house.
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It was Friday morning when I woke up and realized what a memorable day this would turn out to be. I had taken the day off from work to allow myself time to prepare. Julie went to work as planned and although we had initially decided to take a long weekend vacation to The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne she did not know what was in store for her.
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Our sporty yacht
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Once Julie left for work, I immediately called Grant Riley, one of my bestmen, to meet me at the harbor so that we can load the yacht with items needed for that evening. The captain had a previous engagement and had to leave at 11:00 am sharp. We were running late due to traffic and we actually missed the deadline. Fortunately, there was a back up yacht which we were able to board. "What was so important that it needed to be on the boat?" A bottle of Cristal, Dom Perignon, her favorite evening outfit, make-up, shoes, blow dryer, a CD mix I had made for the special occasion, a dozen roses, camera, and a video camera to capture the moment. Since Julie had no idea what I had planned for us, I had to make sure that everything we would need that evening was ready on the yacht.
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Scotty's Landing, the answer to any stressful day.
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After the morning adventure was over, I felt like a huge boulder was lifted off my shoulder to only have another fall right back in its place. The weather was the main concern now. We were going to be on a boat and I needed clear skies and a beautiful sunset for the perfect back drop before popping the question. Local weather meteorologist forecasted rain and cloudy conditions. Sure enough at 4:00 pm it started to rain in Coconut Grove. I cured my nerves by taking a couple shots of whiskey at a local pub. After the third shot and great news from my best man that Key Biscayne had clear skies, I picked myself up with a glimmer of hope and headed home to get ready.
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Would you give this up?
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Julie and I began packing for what she thought was going to be another romantic weekend vacation. Later, she decided that she couldn't go through with the plans. Julie did not want to get disappointed again. Talk about stress & timing. What do I do?!! I've already set in motion the plans for the evening and couldn't turn back. I couldn't tell Julie what I had in store because it would ruin the surprise. There was nothing I could have done at that time. So for the next 45 minutes I laid on my couch while Julie took a nap. It was so tense and stressful that I literally began to sweat. We had to be at the hotel by 6:00pm and it was now 5:30. I was ready to give up when I decided to give it one last chance to convince her that taking a weekend vacation was exactly what she needed. Thank goodness she agreed and at 5:45pm we were headed towards the hotel. Whew...
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She still had no idean what I had planned for us that evening.
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Upon arrival we were greeted by the hotel and taken up to our suite on the club level overlooking the ocean. The room was perfect and skies had cleared up. After sipping champagne I escorted Julie downstairs where our limo awaited for us. Inside we had a bottle of champagne and a compilation of our favorite Frank Sinatra songs playing. Julie was surprised and still had no idea what I had in store for us that evening.
The limo took us to Key Biscayne Harbor where we boarded our private yacht. The captain & co-captain then took us around Key Biscayne for a private tour of the island. From the weather to the music of Bob Marley playing in the background, everything was perfect. At 7:30 I escorted Julie to the bow of the boat to get a better view of the sunset and at 7:45, I turned around and asked her for her hand in marriage. After coping from the shock & confusion as how I was able to arrange the situation, she said yes and it was one of those moments we will always remember.
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Our table at Perricones restaurant
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After celebrating our recent engagement, I had another surprise in store for us. In the cabin below I had set aside her make-up, hair dryer and an outfit for her to change into. The boat docked at Coconut Grove where our limo was waiting for us. We bid farewell to our captain and co-captain and drove to our next destination. Julie and I went to Perricones restaurant, the same restaurant where we had our first date. We also sat at the same table.
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