Hello everyone! Nolan here. I have a fun story to tell you about our first few weeks in Phuket, and the one-kneed event at the end of it all. Last time you checked in with the blog, Jessica and I were in Phuket visiting with her little sister, Paige, who flew out to see us before starting her college adventure. About halfway through that trip, Bangkok announced that they were going to a level of lockdown that we hadn’t even experienced yet in the country. No restaurants open, no malls open, no parks- nothing! We heard the news, looked at each other, looked around at the island paradise we were currently on, and thought: why go back to our tiny apartment in a closed down city when we could stay here? We had already considered it before, so after Paige left, I flew back to Bangkok to grab essentials while Jessica moved us in to a very nice apartment.
The next few weeks were blissful to the max.
We laid on the beach, we drove around exploring on our motorbikes, and Phuket immediately began to feel like more of a home than Bangkok ever had. And while I was having a great month of summer, the positive changes were really emanating from Jessica. She was smiling all the time, enjoying the local food, and having a blast in this new place. I made the comment to her at one point that her whole aura of who she was as a person was much more radiant here. It was around that time that I finalized a decision that had been in the works for a very long time: I needed to marry this girl.
Spending the rest of our lives together is something we’ve discussed many times, so it wasn’t anything new to consider. But I knew Jessica was an old fashioned romantic, so I had to come up with a proposal to remember. After talking with her parents, Bob and Rodine, I consulted with the recently departed Paige since I knew she had insider intel on the type of ring Jessica would want. I went in search of a jeweler who could produce a reliable diamond in the type of ring that was desired. After a week of research, I found the perfect ring, on a Friday, and then reserved a night at a luxurious resort on the posh side of the island for the following Wednesday, a day Jessica and I had set aside for adventuring. The next day we were going to go out to breakfast and then to the mall so that I could buy her the perfect engagement outfit, when we checked the weather for next week and saw thunderstorms on the forecast for Wednesday, which would have thwarted my plan!
Once at the mall, I stepped out quickly to get my reservation changed. I went back in and told Jessica that we were leaving, and had somewhere to be! Confused, but aware that something was up, we hopped on our motorbikes, collected some things from our apartment, and headed to the Banyan Tree Resort. We walked into a stunning lobby with a gorgeous view of a lake, and were given a golf cart ride to our very own private villa. The villa was exactly what I had in mind- it had a fancy bedroom, an outdoor bath, and a personal pool. After dropping our stuff, I set up some cameras, got the ring, and knelt down on a shallow ledge of the private pool. I told her how lucky I was to have her and asked her if she would make me that lucky for the rest of my life- and she said yes!
We spent the rest of the night riding bikes around the resort, lounging in our private pool, drinking celebratory champagne, and enjoying a lobster dinner. Since it was afternoon in Thailand, everyone we knew back in the US was asleep. As excited as we were to tell everyone back home, which we did that evening, it was really special to have a few hours where the news was just ours. There wasn’t any pressure to talk to anyone or broadcast our happiness, and instead we could just have that time to be in love and enjoy the new piece of jewelry on Jessica’s finger.
The next morning, we were awoken by a floating breakfast delivery. That's right- our food was
quite literally floating on the private pool outside our villa. We ate, swam around a bit more, then made our way back to our apartment. All in all, it was a little over a week between beginning to look at rings and making the whole thing happen. I will always be grateful to Phuket for unlocking the type of happiness that got us to this once in a lifetime feeling, and I will forever be grateful to my wonderful, beautiful bride to be.
What a beautiful, fun story! Congratulations!