As much as we like storybook endings, we LOVE fairy tale beginnings!
Meet Natalie and Patrick.
They went with a group of friends on one of our DC Brew Bus tours.
Being the sweet girlfriend that she is, she got their friends together to celebrate Patrick’s birthday.
Lucky Natalie went on to win our recent Administrative Professionals Package online contest, where we randomly selected a winner who would receive a day of pampering, including a floral bouquet and gift basket from Karin’s Florist, a Swedish massage at The Medical Spa at Nova, lunch at Travinia Italian Kitchen and to end the day on a glam note, a wash/blowout at Radiance Salon and Medi-Spa at Lansdowne. Oh, and a stretch limousine to squire the lucky winner to all of these appointments!
Today was that day, and our chauffeur Greg Payne picked up Natalie in the morning at her Helios HR office in Reston. Right before lunchtime, we got a call from Patrick who thrilled us with this request: Instead of dropping off Natalie back at work, could we end up at the Reston Town Center fountain where he would be waiting — to PROPOSE!!! After squealing in delight, of course we said yes and that we’d add another three hours to the limo trip so they could go to a winery and celebrate afterward.
So just a couple of hours ago, while lying in wait for the limo to come around, we asked Patrick how the two of them met. They grew up in Fauquier, Virginia, and at Fauquier High, Natalie sat a couple of rows behind Patrick in a class. “I thought she was the cutest girl,” he said. They ended up going to different universities, but would see each other around town whenever they were home. One day he had tickets to a Jimmy Buffet concert, and asked her if she wanted to go with him. She said yes, and that was the start of their romance.
Cut to the present day. He was planning to propose on an upcoming vacation in June, but thought she’d have an inkling that he’d do it then. The stars aligned for today, April 23, 2014 with the happy coincidence that she won a day of pampering — on her BIRTHDAY. Even with an unscheduled stop that she didn’t know about earlier, Natalie would probably think it was for her birthday.
Instead, this was waiting for her:
She might still be thinking it’s a birthday surprise –but wait, what’s he reaching into his back pocket for?
What’s he pulling out there?
Why is he getting down on one knee — oh my gosh, people around us are clapping!
And of course, she says yes — not a dry eye on the patio!
The ring
The happy couple
The End — and The Beginning! Congratulations, Natalie and Patrick — may you have many happy years together!