Personal news: Amit and I got engaged earlier this year! Amit said the hardest things about proposing to me were 1) keeping it a secret from me, 2) waiting to match the exact time of our anniversary, and 3) finding the ring.
Amit says that every time we’d talk about what I wanted in a ring, I’d add on more requirements— I wanted it to be a unique, beautiful, comfortable, expensive work of art that represented our love, and so on. Stressed, Amit looked at hundreds of rings. Luckily, when Amit saw it, he knew this ring was the one. His friend went to 3 jewelers in Germany but they didn’t have it, so he imported it to NYC and got a friend to check it out there. This designer is known for making comfortable pieces fitted to how you wear them. Amit had me trying on ring sizers of different thicknesses and materials at different times of day for weeks to make sure it was the perfect fit.
Amit put in so much work into the proposal and coordinated with a bunch of friends to pull it off and keep it a secret. He used apple watch data to get the time down to the minute that we reached the peak of the hike that we went on for our first date exactly 2 years prior. He reminded me how, on our first date, he wanted to give me a high five and I was like, “No touching, don’t overstep,” but now we’re in love!
A week prior to the proposal, Amit’s friend hiked to the top and scouted out the location. Amit schemed with friends to perpetuate the lie that it was just a big surf trip. He even pretended to pack his wetsuit to throw me off the scent. Even though I knew a proposal was coming, I didn’t think it was happening on the hike because there were so many people. He had many backup plans in case it rained or if I didn’t want to go to the top. Friends hid in the bushes to record the proposal and took videos and a ton of legit, fancy photos. Other friends made sure no one was around. Friends texted each other throughout the hike to make sure the timing was right. Another friend put together a beautiful basket of our favorite exotic fruits. Afterwards, a private vegan chef cooked us dinner in her house using local ingredients. Amit also surprised me with a visit to an alpaca farm because I love alpacas. Amit had tried to recreate another part of our first date set in a burning man-esque kombucha shop but gave up after many calls trying to revive the defunct shop. I felt so moved and grateful to be with someone so caring, thoughtful, and logistically competent. He’s so great at community and designing a surprising, delightful experience unique to me. He knows me so well. I’m so lucky he wants to be with me.
During the proposal, I felt how I muted my emotions. I didn’t know how to celebrate this much joy. I’ve never let myself love this much before. I used to think I would die alone. I never wanted to need anyone, not even my parents, but now I let myself need Amit. It feels great.
