It's no secret that the day Nathan asked for Barbara's hand in marriage was a day Barbara had been dreaming about for many years! In fact, she may not admit it now but she often asked Nathan with an agitated voice and a yearning tone, When are you going to propose, gaaaah? And Nathan, being the ever-coy and consummate planner would respond dismissively, No lo sé, joder. (I don't know, jeez).  All the while, Nathan had an idea for when he would propose, approximately 10 days after the 3rd full moon of a leap year. Kidding! He was waiting for a special occasion and the perfect ring.

 

      Having obtained the perfect ring with the help of Pinterest, Bárbara's friend Carmen Cuiñas and a million not so subtle hints from Barbara, Nathan was ready to pop the question. After so much anticipation it was going to be tough to find the perfect moment.

 

      Well, ladies and gentlemen, Nathan found that moment in the most informal and unanticipated way possible. One "warm" Sunday morning in frigid Milwaukee, the couple woke up late with no plan for the day. When Barbara asked if Nathan wanted to go to "that spot" by the Lake where they'd been before, Nathan's ears perked up the way a dog's do in a cartoon.Sure, he said, nonchalantly.

 

Nathan: Let's get some food and eat it there. What do you want to eat?

Bárbara: Let's get Panera Bread. (I know, I know, its unfortunate Panera Bread will be a part of our special day forever.)

Nathan: Ok, and you want to take something to drink, water, beer, wine, etc?

Barbara: Wine.

Nathan: Ok.

 

And then, with this next question his mind was made up. He wasn't going to wait to propose at the Nickelcreek concert the next week, he was going to propose today.

 

Nathan: Hey, we could bring the tripod we never use too, and take some pics.

 

Barbara said Ok, excited by this strange request by her boyfriend that always tries to avoid taking pictures. 

 

      So, they walked down to this secluded beach on the banks of Lake Michigan and set up their picnic. They ate their sandwiches, drank some wine, and began to work on their homework - Barbara was in her last few weeks of class and had brought her laptop. They had planned to wait until sunset to take pictures but soon realized the Milwaukee cold would win again.

 

      Nathan set up the tripod figuring they wouldn't last much longer in the cold. It was really going to happen and he began to get nervous, what would he say? He hadn't thought that far ahead. He told Barbara to pose and took a bunch of pictures, making sure the camera was lined up perfectly. She thought it was odd but still had no idea. Then, after the fourth practice picture, Nathan pressed click, the 10 second timer began and Nathan dropped to one knee and popped the question in the most classic American style ever.

 

She didn't say anything for what felt like an eternity, just 'Are you serious, omg, No, you're joking, right? OMG. If you're joking, please stop, I'm getting excited!' And so Nathan said, So, is that a yes?

 

((She claimed she had been fooled so many times before that she didn't believe it was actually happen. Nathan had a bad habit of fake proposing at least once a month for the past 12 months, so you can't blame her for being cautious.))

 

      Eventually she said "Yes, I do." They hugged, kissed and began to pack up their stuff. Ten minutes had passed and Nathan finally remembered the picture he had taken. He wondered if he had captured the moment. You're darn right he did (picture above!)

 

      One last detail, the spectacular engagement ring was made with the diamond from Nathan's Grandmother's ring. Having passed away a few years prior, it was amazing that his Grandmother still got to be "involved" in the engagement. When Nathan and Barbara began to call relatives to let them know the exciting news, Nathan's mom, Martha Jones, pointed out - "You know, today was your Grandmother's birthday!" A remarkable coincidence if I do say so myself.