I got engaged in Santorini, Greece! Never would I have dreamt this. I got engaged almost 2 years ago, Summer 2018. I’m finally sharing our engagement story.
Some of you may know, Mike and I met in New York (you can read my post about how we met: here). In short, he’s from Australia and I’m from California. We did the long distance thing and then Mike eventually did the wild thing you see in movies, and moved out here for me! It took about 8 years for us to get engaged; however, we have our unique story. Those 8 years felt more like 4 years. In the beginning of our relationship, we didn’t always see each other, since he was from way down under, so we were back and forth traveling to see each other every 3 months or so. However, we did connect via online (FaceTime, emails, FB, IG, etc) – we were distant but felt very connected. Point being, people would normally think, “wow that’s a long time,” but for us, it sure didn’t feel like that.
I also was not one to push an engagement or marriage. I wanted this to come naturally from Mike. Of course, we had conversations about wanting to get married. We knew we were each others one. I told him, I wanted him to propose to me, when it came from him. I mean, the guy moving from Australia for me and starting a whole new life in Los Angeles – was enough and better than an engagement, if you ask me. Diamond in the rough.
I also was not one who really dreamt about my dream wedding. I wasn’t very girl-like in that way. I just wanted to find a dreamy man. With time, as we grew up more, we talked more and more about our future – marriage, kids, house, etc. Mike eventually would bring up conversations about the kinds of rings I loved. This was when I knew – it was coming. He took me to go get my finger measured. I learned I don’t have the most attractive fingers and they’re not very graceful. We went early on in the year to try rings on and I also sent him images of my favorites – I knew I wanted my ring to be Gold – since we met at Gold Bar in NY. Plus, I’m a gold jewelry kind of girl!
We started to plan for our Summer trip. It was a month long trip throughout Europe. This was not a cheap trip so I didn’t really think he would propose to me. I knew an engagement was coming but I didn’t know when exactly. I thought, it can be on my birthday, Christmas, some other random day. Our Summer trip was a possibility to me, but I wasn’t too sure. There was a moment in Spain, when I thought, I’m going to test him. I needed to get my nails done, since I didn’t have time back in Los Angeles. I told him, “do you think I should get my nails done or nah?” He responsed with a shoulder shrug, and “if you want, up to you.” I thought, knowing Mike, this is a NO. Typically, Mike is not that discreet and can’t hide surprises, but this time, he did a pretty good job at it.
We had spent time in Spain (Barcelona + Ibiza), we then made our way to Greece (Mykonos) and then Santorini! It was here where he popped the big question. We stayed at this very romantic boutique hotel, overlooking the ocean and magical sunsets. It was the most romantic place we stayed at during our trip, or ever really! It was situated in the outer skirts of Santorini with natural beauty all around. At this point, I still didn’t suspect anything. It was on our second day there in Santorini, Mike said he was taking me to lunch in town. The day started out perfect. We had an amazing lunch, walked around the town, did some shopping, took photos, and then headed back to our hotel.
Before going to our room, Mike suggested we should grab a drink at the bar. I got an Aperol Spritz, and he grabbed the bags and said he was going to the reception because they were switching us to their best room. I mean, all the rooms were breathtaking but this was their biggest suite. I was like, “Ok!” I’ll chill out here by the pool, with my cocktail and phone. Then, I realized 20 minutes had gone by. Then I started to get a little antsy and impatient. I texted Mike, “all good!?” he then said “Yes, almost!” then I started to think hmmm, why hasn’t he came back though? Few minutes later, the sweet hotel manager, came out and said, “Ms. Reiken, come this was please.” “Ms. Reiken” I thought? Then, I started to get a thrill of excitement through my body, and shakiness in my voice. I told him, “Ok, what about my Aperol” talk about nerves. I felt like, is this happening!? As I followed him, I asked, “Where’s Mikey?’ and he said “umm, just follow me this way, you’ll see.” He led me through the door and I couldn’t believe my eyes.
This is a video of the place we got engaged at:
My eyes saw the dreamiest ocean and sunset view. On the floor, there were rose pedals and candles trailing up to a beautiful dinner set-up. Mike was standing tall with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. An array of emotions came over me as I sat down. I was awkward, nervous, happy, excited, surprised. Mike began his introduction talking about us. I wish I remembered word for word what he said, I was in the clouds, I just recall him saying “I LOVE you, I love you” followed by him going down on one knee, with my golden shinning ring, and asking me the big 4 words – “Will you marry me!?” I happily stood up and said YES of course. I was still in a dream, when a couple minutes past, and then it hit me. The tears came pouring down my eyes and we just couldn’t stop holding each other with the excitement that just happened. It took me a few minutes and some tight hugs later for me to catch up with the dream that just happened!
We then celebrated with wine, the view, jumping into the pool! Oh and the food! We finally went back to the food we barely touched and ate while watching the sunset. We then called our parents and told them the news.
Mike had a secret little hidden camera. He didn’t get enough time to set it up properly, so we didn’t get much of us in frame, but here’s a snippet of him proposing:
This is an event in my life, I’ll always remember. I gotta give credit to Mikey, he did a phenomenal job. I was just so impressed and he exceeded my wildest dreams. Santorini will forever be a part of our love story. We can’t wait to go back again and create more memories. Opa!
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