Our engagement
Ha, this is a good story… probably Mark should tell it as he would remember all the details… He has spent days and hours preparing the engagement and involved maybe 20 people… to the the extent that all hotel staff in W hotel in New York knew about him wanting to propose, all the people working in the airport, all the guests in the hotel, all his team at work who were showering him with ideas where to go and what to do, getting best tables, etc, and I…I had absolutely no clue… I just said to him a week before we were going to New York – you know, it would be kinda cool place to propose…but knowing how busy and disorganised Mark tends to be…I did not really expect him to plan it…and plan it so well!!!
Mark, tell us the story …
haha, OK … it’s quite lengthy, so bear with me!
I’d just been asked to go out and attend some meetings in New York with the client. I’d never been there … and I didn’t realise, but neither had Karolina.
So I organised my meetings and dinners, etc, with the client and it was getting close to the weekend. So I asked Karolina if she wanted to go with me … to which she said it would be great – only having one plane ticket to fund between us and any extra hotel nights on top of the client’s requirements for me, it could be good.
I had been looking into places to propose over some time but never dreamt of the opportunity to go out there to do it. I knew thaton Sex In The City, the “main engagement” of the series took place on Brooklyn Bridge. I thought it sounded a bit odd, but after looking at other options, it was the most private, intimate, wonderfully romantic place for us – no tourists around, no ballsy clapping in a restaurant when she screams (yeah, many movies have been watched over the years I think) … just not my bag really.
So I put the plan in motion. I called up and got a ticket for Karolina to go out on the Thursday after work and stay until the last flight out on Sunday night.
Some weeks in advance, I had contacted Jeremy Saffer, who is a friend of sister Sarah’s and owns a lovely jewellers in Harrogate and York, back near home, and started to source the right diamond for Karolina’s ring. I called Jeremy up on the Monday morning and said … “Jeremy, I’m going out to New York … and taking Karolina with me ….” to which he replied “I know what you want already” to which I said “how?” and Jeremy explained his son, who runs the York store, proposed to his girlfriend a year ago, and took a loan ring from the jewellers and then he sourced the exact diamond and setting, etc, later himself. I laughed, he sighed. He took care of absolutely everything. I trust him implicitly – I sent him through a deposit, and from talking to him at 3PM on the Monday, at 8:30 next morning, I received a stunning loan ring couriered through to me, that, while Karolina was in bed, I collected from the door, and sneaked into the dining room to hide it till she left! I was on the plane at 1pm that afternoon out to New York.
So, since I had decided to go out to New York, and hatched the proposal plan, I embarrasingly contacted a couple of wonderful ladies (Voula and Amy) in the New York office of the client. I told them I was taking Karolina out with me and we wanted to know THE places to eat in New York (there’s 1800 places to eat in New York and Manhattan!) and they came up with some ideas but nothing amazing. So the next day, I came clean with them – I said look, I’ve not been entirely honest with you both – thanks so much for your help thus far, but I wanted to tell you, I’m going to propose to Karolina, and want the night to be really special.
They went into overdrive. Absolutely enthralled to help the love birds build their future together, they helped waaaay beyond anything I could imagine. Call up so and so, and speak to Tony the owner, it’s just been taken over by him, was reviewed by Zagat, he’ll take care of you, tell em I sent you … oh actually, no, go here, about 8pm they have so and so, and sit in this table because the views are … and on it went, the best place followed by the new best place recommended. The two I chose didn’t have availability – the two ladies would pursue while we still had time and I registered on the last minute table websites to get cancellations as well.
I go to check-in to the airport. And Linda, my close friend, and colleague at the client said give me a shout and I’ll see what Nicolas can do re your flight – he’s ops manager at Heathrow Terminal 5. So I get a call en route to the airport. Mark, don’t go to normal check-in. Act surprised when you arrive, but you’ve been upgraded to seat 1K. That’s first class, in the nose, above the pilot. My favourite she said. Haha. So I waltz through and go to the Concorde Lounge – another dude next to me with a gold BA card gets turned away, but my boarding pass in hand, I get shown straight in.
While I’m there, living the life in this lounge that is something I am not accustomed, I see the private members club Quintessentially have a concierge service for first class passengers. I go to talk to the guys and tell them about my scheme to propose and they, as the two lovely ladies at the client did, relish in the opportunity to make it happen! They will call their New York office and get them to find something amazing and take care of the whole night – try out their premium service for free and see what I think.
So I arrives in New York. I check into what I thought was a lovely hotel and it turns out to suck, big time. The place was totally shabby, run down, huge and not the place I wanted my future wife turning up to! The next evening, drenched from a tropical storm in NYC, I walked in to broken glass over my carpet, cut my foot, and cussed! I asked to speak to the manager, nobody called, no apology. No good!
So I told Erin, my lovely boss, the next day just in passing. She knew the whole story about proposing. She said right, our meeting doesn’t start for 3 hours … let’s get you out of there and into the W Hotel, overlooking Times Square and we’ll take care of it all for you. So I ran, picked up my bags, checked out early (and complained), carried bag and went and checked into the hotel. Erin said … listen, when you check in, tell them your girlfrend is arriving and you’re proposing, they might take care of you.
So I did. I went and checked in. They moved me from the 23rd floor to the 53rd floor (only has 54 floors) in their corner suite, overlooking the Hudson River. They give me champagne on arrival. They give us complimentary a la carte breakfast all 3 days. And the following night they brought us a gorgeous bottle of red wine. Thank you Erin!
I get a call from the Quintessentially New York office – it’s been hard work, but they managed to secure a table for us at 8pm at River Cafe, Brooklyn. Not the most amazing food in New York, but probably one of the best views. No idea how they got a table as nobody else could find it.
Karolina arrives the next day, tired, late flight in, no idea what’s set out the next evening. So we hang out during the day. My ring is in the hotel hidden away.
During the day, we’re waiting to board the ferry around NYC and I get a call on the phone – “Mark, it’s Quintessentially New York. Just wanted to ask, did you make plans for transport for tonight? Reason I ask – you’re at W Times Square, and the restaurant is 46 blocks south” to which I reply “no” and they say they’ll sort things out – be ready at 7:20PM at the hotel.
As we plan the evening, I say I’ve managed to get a table at a nice restaurant, so I want us to look nice. She’s brought some lovely clothes, and funnily enough I have something nice with me too.
Up shows the car at 7:20 on the dot. We get a call. I said I ordered a car, thought it would be easier. We get in the lovely big car, drinks waiting for us in the back seat. Lovely driver with full suit and hat. Haha. I said to Karolina, look, we don’t get much chance to celebrate being romantic together, so I thought it would be a nice treat.
We had a lovely, if not eventful dinner, on account of drinking and eating plenty of stunning food, but moving once because the ancient air con drips, then moving a second time because the waiter spilt a whole glass of water over the table. We didn’t mind, it was funny.
During dinner, we asked the maitre’d if it would be nice to walk somewhere near to walk off some of the food. He said the Brooklyn Park is nice but not so safe late at night. But how about the Brooklyn Bridge. I was delighted that Karolina said yes, great idea, straight away, so that was the final piece of the jigsaw!
We left the restaurant and told the driver to take us to the start of Brooklyn Bridge.
He dropped us, I took my camera case, and we walked slowly over the bridge. Sunset was just happening and the blue sky was turning into twinkling lights over the Manhattan shoreline. For anyone who has not been over the bridge, I recommend it. Doesn’t look romantic at all to start – you walk on a wooden walkway suspended above the road below you. It’s noisy to start but after a few paces, the noise dissapears and the view, and the moment takes hold.
Half way over the bridge I wanted to take a picture of us. So I get my camera bag and hold the camera awkwardly. I say “Karolina, can you help me just get the other lens out” to which she obliges … reaches in, and pulls out a box .. “what’s this?” … face transforming by the split second. I said “Well, I figured now might be as good a time as any to ask you if you’d like to spend the rest of your life with me” to which she replied “Are you crazy?” and I said “Err, that’s not quite the answer I expected” and laughed. To which she said “Of course, I would love to” and we both burst into tears 
The rest of the holiday, she floated above the ground a couple of feet.
The following night, Quinessentially send us to another restaurant that has no availability at all. They’re just amazing. The moment we have some “spare money” and a need to help manage my life, we will be signing up with them.
The best moment in my life? Quite possibly. Meeting Karolina? Possibly more so.
I am very lucky. I am lucky to have the balls to do it. To have friends around me who help make anything happen. And to have Karolina, the love of my life.
