Castle and Cake: The Proposal

In Ken's words...

As some of you may know, I have an affinity for details and planning surprises like little adventures, special moments and gifts. Naturally, when it came to the proposal and the engagement ring for Jess, a tremendous amount of thought was going to go into it. For me, this would amount to the illustration of the most important choice of my life.

I had given her a ring for Christmas the previous year, something nice to wear out on special occasions. It would require sizing. I took this opportunity to have the jeweler's staff convince her it was necessary to have all of her fingers measured. Now all I had to do was find someone willing to make the ring I had designed. Jess had mentioned she wanted something “different.” Over a year of working with a trusted jeweler would pass before I picked up the finished engagement ring.

Shortly after arriving on Hamilton Island in Australia, the group headed to a restaurant by the marina for some food and refreshments while I took the golf cart to organize the trip’s activities. I needed to reserve two helicopters to fly to secluded Whitehaven Beach and stagger the departures by 15 minutes. This way, Jess and I would be on the beach when my father and brother flew overhead for the photo opportunity. The young women at the ticket counter were tickled at the unusual request and made me promise to bring her by the next day so they could see her and the ring. I happily agreed.

The day before flying “Down Under”, I drove to Miami to ask her father for his blessing. (He jokingly said “Hell no!” at first.) Other than Jess’s father, only my brother knew what was to occur on the beach that day. He had figured it out the day before and would end up taking some of the most memorable photos of the trip that Jess and I will always cherish.

It was a short golf cart ride through town to the other side of the island and the helipad. Jess and I took off first. The flight over the picturesque waters of the Whitsunday Islands was amazing. I had taken great care to hide the ring box in a slightly modified sunglass case so Jess would not suspect what was really inside. The pilot set up our picnic on the beach while we walked towards the water’s edge, Jess with camera in hand, and I with the ring box in my pocket. She snapped a couple of shots down the beach as I began to bend one knee towards the sand. As Jess swung around snapping photos of the island she managed to get one last photograph as I opened the box positioned for the question. She was a little stunned and speechless at first but eventually she said, “Yes!” I held my breath as I slid the one-of-a-kind ring on her finger…and it fit perfectly.