By now, most of our lovely supporters know that Steven and I got engaged while on a family vacation in Dubai and I want to say, THANK YOU SO SO MUCH! So many of you took the time to pass on your well wishes and that means a lot to us, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Now, in the short space of time that we have been engaged, we have quickly realized that one of the first questions people ask is, HOW DID STEVEN PROPOSE?!
So, we have been telling and retelling the story which is fun because reliving that special day never gets old but it also gets tiring. So, here’s the story:
Shortly after our St.Vincent & The Grenadines trip, we went to Dubai.
Now, the “Dubai Trip” was in the works for a long time as it was themed a “family trip” because my 94-year-old grandfather who lives in Ghana was to meet us there along with my uncle who lives in Liberia.
Imagine my excitement as I hadn’t seen my grandfather in about 8 years. Now my Grandad is more of my father because after my dad died when I was 6 years old, my grandfather filled in that father role ever since. But, he left Barbados for Ghana when I was 9/10 years old, so I only get to see him every other year because, well, travel to Africa is flipping expensive yall! So this was the year we were supposed to head back to Africa but Dubai seemed more attractive (I mean we really only go to see him) so we decided that if we can’t see Grandad, he’ll have to come to us. Also, keep in mind that I also officially met one of my uncles for the first time in my early 20s, so seeing him was also long overdue.
But, what made this trip even more special than the previous trips was the fact that I was traveling not only with Steven but with Steven and my mother! Like that was next level and there [in Dubai] he was to meet some important people in my life.
Now, we’ve finally reached Dubai and our trip started off with some hiccups, with one of the major hiccups being that my grandfather actually hadn’t gotten his visa sorted like we were telling him to do for months prior due to a number of reasons. Nonetheless, he got to us in Dubai with two full days to spare.
Let me repeat that, 11 days was now cut down to 2 days with my Grandad and I was upset (for obvious reasons) but look at the bright side, he finally made it!
Now completely unknown to me, Steven had been tossing around some ideas of where he wanted to propose:
The Miracle Garden – a romantic backdrop with tons of flowers under a heart arch made completely from flowers.
The Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building with the world’s highest observation deck, it’s no wonder this made his list.
The Fish House Restaurant – it appeared (since we never got there) to be an amazing restaurant and one of his close friends, Mark, who is also a chef and photographer worked at the establishment.
(You will have to contact him for the remainder he listed because it seems like he really thought this out and had several back up plans!)
On the 10th day of our trip, we found ourselves at The Dubai Mall to grab some lunch and for Grandad to see the Dubai Fountain, The Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. We had also gotten tickets (beforehand) to the Dubai Fountain Boardwalk as it was known to be a spectacular show. So imagine our surprise when we see tons and tons of people crowded around to see this show. Like, we paid for something that everyone gets to see for free?! We then realized that The Dubai Fountain Boardwalk was actually a floating viewing platform meaning that you can walk onto the lake and have a front row seat of this show – gosh, now this sounds amazing!
We get there just in time for the show to start and I’m in complete awe. It’s truly majestic when you’re so close. I was so engrossed in the show that I didn’t even realize Steven had gotten on one knee. Here’s how the dialogue went:
Me: Babe, oh my gosh, this is amazing!
Steven: *silence*
Me: *as I attempt to take a seat and make myself comfortable* Babe, I hope you’re taking photos. Look at this! Holy shit!
Steven: Babe, look…
Me: *completely confused as to why I need to break my concentration*
And there was Steven, on one knee, asking me to marry him.
I think every woman/girl dreams about this very moment but nothing in my wildest dreams prepared me for it. If I was any closer to the edge I would have fallen into the lake!
And for those who asked, yes I cried, profusely, so saying the word ‘YES’ was harder than I thought. But I’m sure the uncontrollable shaking of my head up and down was sufficient until I was able to blurt the words out!
It was all the more special because he waited for my grandad to get to Dubai to tell him of his plans, and he actually popped the question in front of my mom and grandad – how traditional and sweet!
One thing is for sure, we have not settled on a date as yet. We had tossed around one or two dates but we were taking the last few weeks to enjoy the moment.
We will certainly try to document the process because we are both 26 and we know a few people in our lives who have already taken that step but we know there are also a lot more to come and hence we’ll like to make that journey a bit easier if we can!
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