Through My Eyes (John's Account of the Engagement)

About the Author: John Kolbeck, shown front and center in the picture below, knew a long time ago he'd be next!

I will admit that I had been acting strange the few weeks and probably even more so the days leading up to the actual day. I was quite nervous and was very excited to finally propose. Britt likes to say she had several clues throughout the day; I will tell my side of these so-called clues and also my feelings of the day.

I don't think Britt had much of a clue that I was proposing that night because when I showed up she was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Even if in her words they were nice shorts, there's no way any girl wants to get proposed to in shorts. I was working that day  and was surprised how fast the day went considering my excitement. The text message from me that says, "I had a feeling this would happen," was not one of my best lines, I'll admit that. I had to proofread my "days leading up to the day" paper. The real reason I was working a long day was because I wanted to make sure she was in nicer clothes and if we went to the beach much earlier we would have been in bathing suits and t-shirts. I had CJ talk to Britt to make sure she was wearing appropriate clothes for the occasion.

I showed up sweating terribly and tried to convince Britt it was going to get cold by the beach and that I'm  "not afraid to look good."-A line I use often... but, wearing a long sleeve shirt with dress shoes probably did throw up a red flag. I was wearing the shirt I wore on our first date, but she didn't mention anything about it until later. I tried to convince Britt to change clothes and it didn't take too much convincing since she hates when I am dressier than her. I remember telling her, it's ok if I look better than you, no one will care. She gave me a dirty look and  quickly started looking in her closet. I had her put on her blue dress which is one of my favorite pieces of clothing she owns. She talked about me spelling out how the night was going to be a good night, I just did that because she was freaking out about what she should wear and that I was dressed so nicely.

When she got in the car I had a red rose on the seat, but that wasn't anything too out of the ordinary. It wasn't a full bouquet or anything but I've been known to give her flowers. I was  quiet driving down, but I was pretty nervous still and it wasn't like she was trying to have a conversation either..

When we got to Patrick Malloy's...we did sit on the same side of the booth and I do always make fun of other people doing that. BUT  I was the first person to sit down, and I wanted a better view of the TV, so I slid to the booth on our right, she then followed me and was the one who actually sat down next to me. I couldn't tell my soon-to-be fiancé to go to the other side of the booth. I was trying  to make conversation, but it was hard since I was planning my next move.

I did know, as Britt stated, "full well" that Mama D's was nearby but she always says I get confused between Hermosa and Manhattan beach. I figured I could try to play the confused card. As we walk to Mama D's my head is on a swivel to make sure I don't spot my buddy Isaiah who is hiding the bottle in the sand and would probably be getting dinner nearby. During this time Britt is complaining about how overdressed she is since we are at the beach.

"I feel so over dressed, we are at the beach. I look like I'm going to a club." - Britt

"Don't worry, we look good."- Me

I'll admit that I did scarf down my food. In my defense I hadn't eaten much and was actually hungry. I figured I would be pretty nervous and unable to eat, which was true. I ate like crazy for about 3 minutes and then wasn't hungry anymore. The portions are very large so there was a lot of food left. I actually asked Britt if she needed a box since she usually doesn't like taking her food home. Of course this night she decides she'll take one. I guess I should have let her take one and it wouldn't have been so weird so I didn't say no after she told the server she could use one. But my question is, if she knew something was up and there was even a possibility of me proposing, why would she want a box and just another thing to carry around??

After dinner I  needed to go back to the car where I had left the ring. I had contemplated whether to have it in the box or not and in my pocket or not. I had thought about having it in the pocket without the box but since we were going to be walking on the sand I didn't want there to be any chance of me losing it. Although it was a slim chance, I didn't want to have to go buy a metal detector and scan the beach to find the ring later. I could just see Britt and I scanning the sand and me promising that I really do have a ring. I headed to my car, which was  luckily parked on the second level of the parking structure. Britt said she would just wait on the ground level while I "grab my jacket." I fumbled around with the ring and my jacket for what seemed like a very long time. Every pocket, including the jacket pockets seemed very bulky and obvious that I was carrying something. No place seemed to work except for my jacket pocket, with the jacket folded over. It was obvious to me that I looked ridiculous carrying a jacket over my forearm but I didn't  have much choice. Britt made a comment about me being gone for so long and I didn't even come back wearing the jacket. I have no response and I think I told her I really just got it in case she got cold. (What a sweet guy huh.)

Britt explains the walk to find the bottle exactly how I remember it, except I felt like we walked in a few circles. I guess everything seemed complicated for me, and it seemed like I was never going to find the ring and was going to have to crawl on my knees to find the buried bottle. Isaiah  buried the bottle well and when we finally found it I almost start laughing about how little of the neck was sticking out of the sand.

She pulled the bottle out and started reading the note, I got down on my knee. The ring that was so bulky in my pocket and the thing I was nervous of dropping was so hard to get out of my jacket. If you watch the video you can see me really struggle with it. I tried to maintain eye contact with Britt while trying to pull the box out. Once the box was out of my pocket, I even struggled with opening it so it took me more time than it should. OF COURSE she said yes after I asked her to marry me and she was crying. I put the ring on her finger and stood up to give her a hug and kiss. In the video it seems like I kiss her every 6 seconds but I didn't feel like it was that much when it was actually happening

Isaiah and Krystal came over to congratulate us. They said how excited they were and left pretty fast. I guess they wanted to make sure to get to the Bonaventure before us and not ruin the surprise of everyone being there. On the way to the Bonaventure, none of Britt's family, except for Kylie who lives in Texas responded to her texts.

We got to the Bonaventure and greeted our families. It was an awesome experience and I wouldn't have changed a thing. It will be a good story to tell, and I'm grateful for Isaiah and Krystal for filming the whole thing and burying the bottle. I am so thankful for just an awesome fiancé, and I can't want to marry her and have her for the rest of our lives.