Exactly one year ago, Kyle and I were on our way to Negril, Jamaica to spend a week of much-needed relaxation on the cliffs of this beautiful island, eating delicious food and drinking out of coconuts. I had absolutely no idea that he had been planning for months to ask me to marry him on this trip.

The day after the proposal on 7 mile beach

We got to the airport on May 28th to catch our red-eye flight to Houston then Montego Bay, Jamaica. Delirious in Houston at 6am, walking around the empty airport, I joked about ways Kyle should propose to me one day. Brilliant idea #1) I told him that he should get one of those giant cookies and have them write "Marry Me, Loser" on it. Brilliant idea #2) I told him that he should put a ring inside of a pillow pet and open it so the ring flies out at me. (Feel free to steal those ideas, fellas). Little did I know that all that time he actually had a gorgeous ring hiding in his carefully guarded backpack.

We got to Montego Bay where it was pouring rain and hopped in our van for the 2 hour drive to our cliff-side cabana in Negril.

When we got there and settled in, we went out for a drink and our first of many incredible meals. Marriage, proposals, weddings were the last thing on my mind. Sleep was the first thing. The second thing was how beautiful it was there.

The view from our porch

We walked back to our place and sat out on the porch drinking Red Stripes and listening to music and the crashing waves below us. It was so romantic and relaxing, just sitting out there all by ourselves. Dim light from Rick's Cafe in the distance. I sat there sipping my beer, eating stale snacks from the airport, when Kyle got up telling me he'd be right back. I thought nothing of it.

Sitting on our deck over the water at night

He returned and sat in the chair, and I asked him to tell me what he likes about me (I've learned over the years to just cut to the chase and ask for compliments when I want to hear one). This is when I got the best answer to that question I'll ever get. He replied with a smile that continues to melt my heart today and said "everything." He got down on one knee and pulled out a ring from his pocket.

I remember the sheer shock that came over me. My hand rushed to cover my gaping mouth, my eyes shot wide open, and I just kept say "oh my god" over and over again. I honestly remember looking at the ring, which was not in a box, and thinking this was a joke. I have always joked with him about stupid ways to propose one day, so maybe he was just taking that joke even further. But, clearly, this was not nearly stupid enough to be a joke.

After what must have seemed like an eternity to him, he said "So is that a yes?" Now it was real. I said "yes," he slipped the ring on my finger, and it fit perfectly. I hugged him, I cried. I cried some more. I couldn't believe that this was actually happening. We had been together for almost 5 years at that point, and had bought our house together nearly 3 years earlier. I had reached a point where I thought marriage might never be in the cards for us, and I was perfectly comfortable with that. But here it was. Kyle was actually asking to spend the rest of our lives together as husband and wife.

Immediately after he proposed!

He spent the rest of the night telling me all of the things I had always dreamed of hearing, but now he could say them with conviction. I spent the night crying out of pure elation and shock. It was actually quite embarrassing how much I cried.

I barely slept that night. Every time I woke up in the middle of the night I just laid in bed touching my ring, making sure it wasn't a dream. As soon as the sun came up at 5 am that next morning I leaped out of bed to see my ring. It was so dark the night before, I could barely see the colors and details of it. It was gorgeous. I was so impressed he picked this out by himself, hiding it from me all along.

My ring (good job Kyle!)

Even though I looked terrible when he proposed, I was eating snacks and probably had crumbs on my shirt, it couldn't have been more perfect. It was just the two of us, and it kicked off an incredible week of celebrating together in the Caribbean. We relive that memory all the time and it's like we were just there. We can't wait to be married and start our lives together as husband and wife.

Phew, now that I'm all twitterpated, tell me your engagement story!