The Plan (E4)

The "perfect" engagement plan is something I think almost every person envisions when they propose/get proposed to. It's something I actually used to think about when I was in high school and college. You see, I was a hopeless romantic and loved to do things for my GFs that were outrageous and cheesy. So my ideas for proposal plans ranged from doves coming out of trumpets, roses falling from the sky, music playing from bushes and glaciers, randomly breaking into song, the whole shebang.

But now that we have social media constantly showing us even crazier and well thought out proposals, I started feeling... inadequate.

The game has changed and there's no one way to propose to your significant other. I've come to realize over the last few months that the "perfect proposal" really comes down to that special someone you are with. As long as you make the experience unique to your relationship, then it'll be awesome.

So my plan was to do it in Iceland. Simple right? Maybe too simple even. I got a couple of my friends to come along and film/take pictures of the event (including a professional photographer so that was cool), I had the ring, and I knew that I wanted to do it at an "epic location" like on a glacier, or in a cave, or after a long hike next to a crazy waterfall (Actually, my plan A was to do that it whenever the northern lights happened... But since this event is a luck-driven kind of thing, I definitely needed a plan B).

The reason I wanted to do it in Iceland was because I felt like traveling and exploring new places was the epitome of our relationship. April was the person to convince me that it was okay to venture outside the U.S. We lived together in Japan without knowing any Japanese going into it, we've traveled all over Asia together, and we have many more plans to come. All of my international experience has been done together with April. And to me that was really special.

And in the days leading up to the Iceland trip, I realized another idea that would make it even more special. April loves reading, writing, blogging, and reading other blogs. So I figured why not write about my whole experience keeping this a secret from her for 6 months? I'm sure she would love to read it. And as her sister pointed out to me, it would "extend the proposal experience." So I decided to write this series of posts and release them daily, right after I proposed.

I've been writing these posts while I ride the Bart to work, on my lunch breaks, at home while April showers, and pretty much any time I had to myself. It's been a crazy experience reflecting on it all, and also trying to find the time to actually make it all work and connect, but I think/hope it's worth it.

This is my "perfect proposal plan." What's yours?

Skaftafellsjökull (Skaftafell glacier)

All photos were taken by Mark Andrew Gonzales. Follow his photography at

markandrewg.com