What do I say about the biggest question I have ever asked
in my life?
I woke up at 5:30 am; Gina and I got ready for my brother Stephen to pick us up and drive to Disneyland.
Stephen got to our house and I had to figure out where to
hide the ring; the box was far too big to hide in my pocket. I shoved the ring
in my garment bag, and hoped there would be no reason for Gina to look there.
Only my brother, my childhood best friend Chris, and my mom knew my master plan. I
asked Gina’s dad for his blessing the day before (I knew on my drive back from
his house that it was real, no going back after asking the girl's dad!).
To understand what this day meant to me, I have to give you a little background: Disneyland is a very special place for me. I had a season pass from the time I was thirteen up until a few years back. Ever since I came out of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, saw the door marked with the 33, and asked a cast member what it was, it has been a dream of mine to be invited in. It was only 48 hours earlier that I even found out I was going to 33 for my birthday (a shout out for my Mom, who worked her connections to make this dream possible).
After a few fun-filled hours in the park, we all went back to the car to change into our dress clothes and made our way back to New Orleans Square. At 12:50 I lifted the brass plate on the wall of the doorframe and rang. After we announced our arrival, the host ushered us into an oak elevator.
I was starting to sweat at this point; I had no idea the layout of this place. We took the lift to the second floor, where we were guided to our table. We ordered off a menu that had no prices (pretty fancy!), got our food and moved on to dessert.
After getting a feel for the ambiance of the room, I decided that It was not romantic enough and it was not the right place to get down on bended knee. So I got the word out to my partners in crime. After we had our lunch, I suggested to our crew that we go out on the balcony. We walked out, I surveyed my battleground, and decided at the last minute that I was going to go for it on the far left balcony. The sun was shining, New Orleans Square was my backdrop, and it was just us.
I told Chris and Stephen to
turn the cameras on. Gina still had no hint of a clue what was going to happen. I had to
spin around because Gina moved at the last minute. I got on one knee and said. “Gina
if you aren’t doing anything for the rest of your life, I want to know if you
will marry me?” Gina started laughing, she faked a punch in my direction and told me to get up, to stop joking. I told Gina “don’t ask why" and
again, "will you marry me?” Gina finally noticed the ring and (disoriented) asked, "Where did you
get that?" Then I asked one more time and… my longtime girlfriend transformed into my fiancé
in one word….. YES. I jumped to my feet and grabbed her and kissed her. It felt so
good to hug her. I hated keeping the secret from her and it felt so good to ask
her. I had never in my life felt as good as the moment Gina said yes.
The rest of the day I felt 12 years old and all the wonder
and splendor of Disneyland was brand new to me. I kept holding Gina as if it was the first day we started dating.
We finished the night with fireworks, light shows and rides.
It was the best day of my life.
Jett Dunlap 7-30-2013