Imagine if you will, a sunset beneath the Eiffel Tower. The hustle and bustle of the City of Love is just beginning to die down for the evening. Two lovers are laughing and enjoying each other's company after a day of gallivanting about the town when the man drops to one knee. The woman is shocked and surprised as tears begin to flow down her cheeks. "I love you," the man says. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?" 

"Yes!" the woman replies....

That's how Brittny wanted it to go down, but that isn't quite what happened.

No, instead Gaston was forced to plan a much more subtle proposal for his future bride-to-be. Getting a surprise Paris trip together was out of the question, so the next best option was to figure out a way to bring Paris home. Adventure START!

With Christmas coming up, its only natural to want to tie in a proposal with a particular gift, so it was decided to put together a package of gifts leading up to the proposal. And if anyone knows anything about Paris, there are a few locations that couples are almost required to visit upon arrival in the famed city. Number one on that list is known as Lock Bridge. It's said that any couple who signs their initials on a lock and attaches it to Lock Bridge will be together forever, so naturally there has to be a lock in this gift package. The couple loved to take photographs together and still have a dream of travelling the world together so there has to be some photos or a camera or something in the gift. And of course, a wonderful Paris themed treasure chest type of box to put all of this into. On top of that the ring itself was a surprise, so all the pieces were there, it just needed to be put into action.

Christmas morning rolled around and it was busy. No time to stop and relax because there are houses and families to visit. Normally the couple would exchange gifts early in the morning, and like normal, Brittny had a gift for Gaston, but Gaston appeared to wake up with no gift in sight except for the single aformentioned lock - a clue to to what was to come (that completely stumped Brittny if I may say so).

The couple went through the normal festivities of Christmas. To Gaston's mom's house to exchange gifts and eat breakfast, to Brittny's parents house for lunch and games, and then to Gaston's dad's house for dinner. As expected, wedding questions popped up all day long:

"When are y'all going to get married?" "When's the wedding?" "How long y'all been together, shouldn't y'all be ready to tie the knot by now?"

These questions (combined with the curious clue from that morning) led to a relatively frustrated Brittny, who - after the day's fun - was now ready for her surprise. And that it was.

Upon arriving home, Brittny was presented with the Paris themed treasure chest - complete with photos from all throughout the couple's relationship - their trip to Bermuda, a North Carolina trip (that included a detour to Lake Gaston actually), previous Christmas memories and the like. Thinking she had recieved her Christmas gift in it's entirety, Brittny turned around to see her boyfriend already on bended knee with a ring box in his hand and a brand new photo album to fill with memories. Before he could even get the question out there were tears and she had already begun nodding her head yes, and the rest as they say, is history....