HOW THEY MET:

We met through work as teachers in John Carroll University’s First-Year Writing program; Maria has worked there since 2010, and David worked in the program from 2011 to 2013. Part of the program involves a summer orientation, so we met in August of 2011.

THE PROPOSAL STORY:

The summer of 2015 marked Maria’s upcoming 30th birthday; so, on July 3rd, David drove in for the holiday weekend from Pittsburgh. We made plans to meet two of our friends at The Pub (formerly at Beachwood Mall) that evening, and spent the afternoon running errands. As Maria was getting ready to go out, David suddenly walked into the room and said “So, I want to start your birthday week early. I have a present to give you.” Maria followed him out into the living room, where he told her to sit on the couch and cover her eyes. Suddenly perplexed, she did what he asked (and luckily, everything happened so fast that she didn’t even have time to think!) When he was ready, she opened her eyes–and David was on one knee in front of her with a ring box open in his hand, and asked her to marry him!

After the initial excitement wore off and phone calls to parents were made, Maria and David were ready to make their way to The Pub. In a haze of disbelief, Maria followed David into The Pub, where he “pretended” to walk around and look for their friends. Finally, he walked into the party room, and she followed; there, she discovered that he had planned a surprise birthday party for her and invited ten of her best friends. Some lived close by, but others drove from Wooster and North Canton to spend the evening with her.

After her friends shouted, “Surprise!”, Maria and David looked at each other, and David said, “Should we tell them?” Little did her friends know that they would get a surprise in return–no one else knew that David had proposed earlier that evening!

THE RING:

David hand-picked a beautiful 1-carat, princess-cut diamond and had it placed in a 14k white gold, 4-prong setting. Classic, stylish, and perfect for Maria’s taste!