How we got engaged
Well, it all started back in January. I was trying to think of a perfect engagement for Erin. I knew at this point that I definitely wanted to marry this woman, and I wanted to give her a fairy tale engagement. Something that was personal, romantic, and a story.
It wasn't very hard to think of a great idea, especially since I knew what she "didn't" want. I knew she didn't want something public, or in front of people. I also knew she didn't want her ring in food, and she didn't want an over the top proposal, especially at a sporting event. But this woman LOVES sports, namely football, namely the Steelers.
Now, I'm not much of a Steelers fan. I'm a die hard Cowboys fan, and I also hold a slight grudge against the Steelers from when they stole the Superbowl from my home town team, The Seattle Seahawks. It's something I make known to Erin often, and she hates it. But for the most part, we agree to disagree, and we just enjoy watching football together period.
So, since we both have passion for football, I wanted to give her an engagement related to what she loved. About that time, we had bought tickets to visit her parents, who live in Pittsburgh, in May. Now, I had told Erin that I would not propose to her until I met her folks, and more specifically, until I got the go ahead from her Dad.
I had it in my head to propose to Erin in Pittsburgh while we were visiting. I thought how perfect it would be to propose to her on the field of Heinz field, where the Steelers play. I don't care for the Steelers obviously, but that's not the point. The point was, to give her a perfect engagement that meant a lot to her, and showed thought and sacrifice on my part. That's the only thing that's acceptable for my beautiful woman. She deserves nothing less.
I knew it was a long shot, but just out of curiosity, I looked up the number for tours, and gave them a call. I knew when we would be in Pittsburgh. I ended up talking to a lady named Maria, who was in charge of tours. I explained to her what I had in mind, and I kinda didn't think it would happen. I didn't even know they'd be open. She was like "Sure, we can definitely make that happen"! "Really?" I said! I couldn't believe it. Maria and I bounced some ideas around and we settled on being able to go down to the field right before a private tour. It was perfect.
Maria just told me to keep in touch ahead of time. I ended up getting the ring for Erin at the end of February, and BOY was it tough to keep THAT a secret! It was killing me. There were several times I remember, where I wanted to pull it out and propose to her, but I kept that promise in the back of my mind. It was tough for me to wait until May, but it was the best thing I could do to honor her, and her family.
Fast forward to May. We head to Pittsburgh. I had snuck the ring in my carry on bag, and tucked it into a secret pocket, just in case my bag opened somehow and stuff fell out. When we got to Pittsburgh, we hung out with her family a bit, and then Erin and her Mom went out shopping. I was nervous, but since I was at the house all alone with her Dad and brother, I figured this may be the only chance I get before Monday (which is when I had the tour set up) to sit down and get his permission. Her Dad, brother and I stepped out on the back porch, and I told them that I had a gift for them. I pulled out 3 nice big stogies that I bought a couple of weeks prior. They were pleased. We sat on the porch in the sunny weather, and lit the cigars, and drank some Iron City Beer.
At this point I knew I was going to ask them, but I didn't really know how to bring it into conversation without seeming too presumptuous. So, I just let it out. "So... Dan... What do you think about me wanting to marry your daughter"? He paused, and had a slight smirk. He thought for a moment, and said "Well.... I'm very impressed that you thought enough to wait and talk to us." At that point him, Brian (her brother) and I had a heart to heart. This conversation was very special, and will stay between the 3 of us men. But at the end, I received their blessing, and I was go for launch.
That was Saturday night. Let's just say that Sunday was a LONG day. When I went to bed Sunday night, I could hardly sleep I was so excited. When I woke up the next morning, Erin and I had some coffee and breakfast. I was very fidgety. At one point, Erin even commented on it. I was a nervous wreck. I wasn't afraid that she would say no, I was just afraid that it wouldn't work out the way I wanted it to, with the plans, and times.
We had to be there at 11:30am, and Erin and I had already planned on spending the day in Pittsburgh. I kind of let her take the lead in plans, but dropped hints to make sure that we'd be down by the stadiums around the right time. We left about 10am, and got stuck in traffic. I was panicking on the inside, but didn't lead on. Erin was even getting frustrated. I was like, "Honey, it's no big deal, we're not on a schedule" But I was terrified.
We ended up down by the stadium at 11:25, which was PERFECT. I had already knew where to go, but I played dumb for Erin's benefit. After all, she had no clue that I had been planning this for almost 5 months. When we turned on to Art Rooney Ave, she saw a sign that said something about tours. She said "Aw honey, they do tours here! We should see how much they cost." "Sure", I said, "we'll check it out, why not".. We parked, and walked over to the Coca-Cola great hall entrance.
Erin was walking a step behind me. When we got to the gate, I told the guard that I had arrangements with Maria and Gary for a private tour. Erin had a confused look on her face at this point. Which was perfect. "Surprise" I said. "We have a private tour set up" She said something to the effect of "I had a feeling your were up to something". Indeed I was, but she still had no clue what was coming.
We met Gary there, and Erin stepped away to use the restroom. "Good, we can talk now" said Gary. I smiled. He said that a gentleman named Josh was going to take us down to the field. When Erin came back, Josh played it off perfectly, as to not give anything away. He said "Hey, since there's a break in the rain, and the tour isn't for another 20 minutes, do you guys want to go see the field"? We were like, "SURE", why not eh? :)
We walked to the field. I was trembling at this point. It was the big moment. When we got down there, Erin's eyes were gazing all over the field, while I was plotting the point of attack. I was holding her hand, and leading her towards the field, kind of pulling her. She was kind of hesitating because she was looking around. "Why are you in such a hurry hun"? I didn't say anything at first.
I looked at her, and said, "This is it, Sandrick". "Huh"? She said. I got down on one knee, and looked up at her? She had a HUGE smile on her face. "You're doing it now?? At my favorite place ever?" I pulled the ring box out of my left pocket, and I said, "Erin, you know I don't care for the Steelers much, but I love you. Will you be my wife"? Before I could even finish my sentence, she said, with a ginormous grin, "Of course, Yes yes!" I put the ring on her finger, and got back up, to give her a huge hug and planted a kiss on her face, while happy tears filled our eyes!! I will always remember that smile she had for the rest of my life.
We went back over to Josh, our tour guide who was standing about 50 feet away. He congratulated us, and then took our picture! After that, we went on the tour. We walked around like a couple of teenagers. My fiance and I enjoyed our tour. We were both ecstatic. After the tour, we got in the car and drove up to the strip district, and had a late lunch at a little hole in thew wall Italian place called Bella Notte.This place was perfect. It had pictures all over the wall, and a big guy tossing pizza dough in the back! We split some hoagies, and called everyone we knew to share the news!!
