Our Proposal Story
OUR PROPOSAL STORY
Hi loves! I've got some big news for you today... We're engaged! I'm so very excited to share the story of how Jack asked, and how I said, "Yes!" While I tend to keep my personal life private, this is something I want to share, because it means so much to me for all of you to be a part of this huge milestone in our lives. I was giddy when it happened, I'm currently giddy, and I hope to always have a stupid happy grin on my face when I think about this event, and each chapter of our love story.
Don't forget to hover over the images for more descriptions, and thank you so much for tuning in!
I thought it would be fun to do a his version/her version of the story so you can get two perspectives on how it all went down!
JACKSON KUO
I had spent the better part of the past two months planning this hiking trip to Yosemite to a tee. It had to be the perfect proposal and I envisioned that special moment where I would go down on one knee, surrounded both by the magnificence of Yosemite and well-thought out decorations and tealight candles. Apparently, the universe had other ideas and decided to throw obstacles in the way!
Upon arrival, we were told our trail had experienced a forest fire, causing us to abruptly change locations. That was the first sign that things were not going my way. What followed was a series of mishaps: a race against the setting sun finding a wilderness campsite; Annie completely throwing out her back; me getting violently ill; a failed attempt at a mountain hike; and all capped off by an unexpected thunderstorm.
But there was a moment, as we stopped to rest in that pouring rain, where I looked at Annie sitting on a rock and I felt nothing but contentment and happiness. I knew that, even with everything going wrong around us, nothing could make this moment feel any less special. And, very shortly after that, once the rains had subsided, I dropped to one knee and asked her to be my wife. And it felt exactly the way I hoped it would.
ANNIE CHO
A group of six of us friends flew into SF so we could have a weekend camping trip in Yosemite. I was absolutely CLUELESS the entire time that any secret planning was being made, nor that this would be any different from our other travels.
From an outside perspective, you could say that nothing was going right in this trip. And as Jack and I are both pretty good planners, it was total irony from the get go. As soon as we drove into Yosemite to pick up our wilderness passes, we were told that the Yosemite Valley area had had wildfires and was closed off for the entire weekend! This meant that we couldn't camp where we had gotten permits, nor hike to some of the most iconic (and Instagrammable, haha) spots that we were really looking forward to seeing.
We were given permits to a different area in Yosemite, and decided to make the most of the trip. But this was only the beginning of our problems. The campsite that we received a permit to was completely full, so we had to hike into the wilderness in darkness and pitch three tents with the help of flashlights (this is not an easy task), my back was in excruciating pain because I had recently thrown it out, Jack got sick and couldn't keep anything down the next day, and our attempt to hike and see a landmark got crushed as the downpour forced us to return to our campsite.
We finally decided that with the bad weather, we were just going to drive back to SF that night rather than sleep in the woods. As a last hurrah, we wanted to check out some landmarks that we could drive to. After about 20 minutes of driving we were stuck in bad traffic. We asked the cars in front what was happening, and they said that because of the wildfires, several trees had fallen and had blocked up the road. Sadly even our last attempt to make something of our Yosemite trip was squashed! We turned our car around to leave, but Jack, noticing a viewing point where you could see Half Dome suggested we stop and take a look.
Jack turned to me and said, "Let's take a picture together." So I waited for him and the guys to get their cameras, and as soon as Jack got back to me, I turned to smile for the camera, but I noticed him kneeling down with a little black box! The next moments were honestly a blur. I can only remember bits and pieces of what he said to me because I was in total shock, tears running down my face as I nodded yes. Jack got up, put a ring on my finger, hugged me, and cheers from our friends resounded in the air.
I was later told that Jack had made detailed plans for the proposal, with decorations and help from our friends. But because all our Yosemite plans didn't work out according to plan his proposal was totally unscripted. And yet, even in the midst of all of these misadventures, from camping struggles to proposal plans going awry, strangely enough, to me, this was perfect. Because in the moment, when someone you love gives their all to you, and asks you to be their all in turn, nothing else matters. Decorations or fancy proposals really don't make the moment special, it's the person you share it with, and the love you hold for each other.
Looking back, I love all the hiccups on our camping trip. Trying to find a place to camp and then pitch 3 tents in darkness was an oddly fun adventure to have with friends. Hiking in the pouring rain, laughing and rolling our eyes after every plan fell flat, having fun cooking and making camp fires, applauding each other after successfully going #2 in the wilderness, or just being silly with each other.
Now we can look back fondly and say, "Remember that time we went to Yosemite, and NOTHING worked out, but Annie and Jack got engaged?! That was fun times." Thank you to our dear friends who were there with us to share such a special moment, and for keeping it all a secret from me! YOU PUNKS. Love you guys.
XOXO
CREDITS:
Photography: Danny Yi
SHOOT LOCATION:
Yosemite National Park
