To Paris And Back - Carey & Krista's Story
Popping the question can be one of the most memorable and exciting moments in your life. From finding the perfect ring for the love of your life, to planning an unexpected proposal in the City of Love, the moment is one that can stay with you forever. Carey knew right away that Krista was "The One" and decided to give her the proposal of a lifetime with a ring to match! Here is their story:
Krista and I were introduced through a mutual friend back in April 1999 and we quickly realized that we had a strong attraction and that this had the potential to become very serious. We had great fun dating over the summer and fall months of 1999 and as it happened, my cousin in northern France was getting married in late October so I made arrangements for us to attend the wedding (while secretly planning my proposal!).
Prior to leaving for our trip, I had met with Brent at La Maison d’Or several times to design our rings and to pick the diamond. Brent and everyone else at La Maison d’Or were incredible during the entire process and the logistics were complicated to say the least. It was down to the wire for getting the rings, since the diamond had only been flown in from Belgium days before we had to leave. Timing was so tight that I had to have my good friend pick up the ring from La Maison d’Or on the morning we were due to leave and deliver it to me clandestinely at the airport. With the rings secretly tucked away in my camera bag, we jetted across the ocean.
My cousin’s wedding in Normandy was beautiful and afterwards we went to Paris to spend some time touring around the City of Love. Had it not been for the occasion of my cousin’s wedding, I’m sure Krista would have suspected that something big was imminent, but she was blissfully unaware and believed that we were just having a magical vacation in Paris. My plan all along had been to propose to Krista on the Eiffel Tower, so on the evening of November 2, 1999, after having a fantastic dinner in the legendary Michelin-starred Jules Verne restaurant on the upper level of the Eiffel Tower I knew it was time. We finished our meal and made our way down the steel stairway to the main level, and we wandered until I found a quiet corner (possible in those days) with an empty bench. I asked Krista to take a seat, got down on one knee, pulled the ring from my camera bag and asked Krista to marry me. Fortunately, she said “yes!” or it would have been a long trip home!
After much planning, we were married on August 12, 2000, at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa. It was an amazing ceremony and a spectacular Paris-themed reception, complete with a 40-foot balloon sculpture of the Eiffel Tower in the main ballroom! We are coming up on 24 years of marriage, but it seems like such a short time ago that we even met. It has been an amazing 24 years, and we are so blessed to have shared it with our daughter, son and 2 grandkids along the way!
We are very much looking forward to dinner at Beckta and over dinner & drinks we are sure to be reminiscing about our whirlwind romance that took us to Paris and back.
Regards,
Carey & Krista