OUR MEETING

Robyn:  He walked up wearing a sweatshirt that was a reference to me living in Israel. He was so clearly trying to get in my favor! It was a blatant come on. He totally blew it. 

Danny: Before first meeting - Man this sweet Israeli sweater will show her that I'm cultured and thoughtful!

After first meeting -  Maybe I came on a little too strong.  I think I blew it.

Our time as coworkers

Danny: The whole time I was working with Robyn, I just kept telling myself "Don’t shit where you eat, Martin."  I knew I had a golden opportunity with the greatest girl I'd ever known. I couldn't ask her out while I still worked there!"

Robyn: We quickly became office buddies. Whether it was work related or personal, he constantly challenged me and my perspectives and I appreciated having someone who made me really think about my view on the world. Soon office buddies became coffee buddies, coffee buddies became lunch buddies, and lunch buddies eventually became friends.

ASKING OUT

Danny: I had a plan.  I was going to get a new job and ask her out on my last day. Then one day we were working overtime and she just showed a level of fragility I’d never seen in her before. She said to me: "I’m just worried I’ll never find someone who is right for me – would you go out with me?"

She had forced my hand, I had to say yes.

Robyn: I couldn't figure out why he was dragging his feet. It was so clear from the first day we met he was into me. Eventually my impatience caught up with me (I mean I waited 4 months!) and I had to ask him out.

OUR FIRST DATE

Robyn: Leading up to it, I was apprehensive.  If this date went wrong, it could ruin our careers, literally. Fortunately, it was wonderful.  A surprise at every turn, the best date I had ever had in my life up until that point. It was so clear that Danny put thought into every element of the evening, from the food, to the drinks, to the entertainment - which was a magic show! At first I thought it was going to be a bit campy, it turned out to be a phenomenal steampunk close up magic show. I even randomly got selected to be a part of the show! (Which always happens to me, ask Gigi.)

Danny: Leading up to it, I did a bunch of research.  I wanted to stand out the right amount – not just the status quo.  I looked at shows, events, activities etc.  This magic show was going to be it. The date went better than planned.  Even a homeless guy asked us for a dollar after paying a compliment to “my wife." It culminated with our first kiss.  A perfect ending to a perfect date.

The Proposal - ROBYN's perspective

Danny planned for us a perfect day in the city. It began with meeting up with friends at the North Beach Festival, then dinner at Octavia restaurant, and it ended on a ghost tour hosted by the same magician as our first date! The only suspicious thing Danny did during the day was wear his wool coat through the ghost tour even though it was one of the hottest days on record in San Francisco!

The tour ended in a haunted hotel library and Danny was sweating bullets. I kept telling him to take it off if he was too hot! But he insisted he couldn't. The magician randomly chose someone out of the crowd to "talk to the ghosts" and he chose me! (Again, this is not a rare occurrence in my life, just ask Gigi.) He had me write my name on a sheet of paper and I placed it between my hands and we waited for the ghost to "speak."

After a minute he asked me to open my hands and there on the sheet of paper it said "Robyn Sipporah Priscilla Alden Taggart Garcia Winner, will you marry me?"  He was behind me on one knee. Of course I said yes!! 

Afterwards he confessed the ring was in the coat and he couldn't take it off out of fear of the ring falling out of his pocket.

This was by far the best date of my life.

The Proposal - Danny's Perspective

I'm a lucky guy. Robyn is smarter than me. If I was going to pull off a huge surprise, I had to plan well and put the day together in total secrecy.  So I started 9 months beforehand. I envisioned the ring, the date, and the reveal and needed the component pieces. 

Step 1 - The Permissions

Michelle and Pam (with a special guest appearance from Nancy C.)

I'm a lucky guy.  I have 2 mother in laws; let that set in. 

Here's why I'm so lucky: They are amazing people. They are heroic people. Michelle and Pam are world changers plain and simple. I have 2 mother in laws that are going to help me be the best person I can possibly be. Which is why it's my job to antagonize them. Great fun for me until I had to ask for their daughter's hand.

We went to dinner while Robyn was out of town, Nancy was along on business. Upon asking, they spent the next 4 hours lambasting me about my worthiness level - how's that for foresight? The grilling got so bad that Nancy even buckled saying "Oh just say yes already!" 

Fortunately they did say yes, sealed it with hugs, kisses and I love yous with a few dashes of "don't blow it" peppered in. 

Wilson

I asked Robyn's dad while we were on vacation in Colorado.  We had a walk on his peaceful street and I did my best to convey how strong my love for his daughter was. I hoped he'd deem me worthy to marry her.  He agreed, teary eyed.  Sealed with a handshake and a hug. 

That evening, with Robyn none the wiser, we all worked together and made the most delicious butternut squash ravioli with a sage butter sauce from scratch. Keep an eye out for this recipe on our menu!

Step 2 - The Ring

I'm a lucky guy.  The aforementioned mother in laws had a diamond ready to go! Surprise surprise, Robyn had a Pinterest board I'd acquired with ring styles she liked, and they were all fittings for the exact cut of the diamond I'd procured from my mother in laws and they even had an awesome jeweler I could talk to - what are the chances?!?  I found excuses to get to the jeweler for 2 months getting it made, and had secured the band

Step 3 - The Date 

I thought about several ways to propose, and did a bunch of searching and reading to get some ideas flowing. I thought it might be cool to integrate the magician from our first date into the proposal.  I looked him up to see what he was doing at the time - turns out it was the San Francisco Ghost Hunters tour. Robyn and I shared a penchant for the macabre - un-dead stuff and the like. She's always having scary dreams and seeing ghosts - it was perfect!

Step 4 - The Question

I coordinated with the magician turned ghost tour guide, and asked for a big reveal at the end of the tour.  He devised a plan to perform a trick where, upon communing with the dead, a message would be delivered on a paper asking her to marry me. On the day of, I kept the ring concealed in my coat for the duration, and for the big reveal, he pulled her out of the crowd, and she read it aloud. Flabbergasted, she turned to me, I on bended knee, and I asked her "will you marry me?"

She replied: "Of course I will, you silly goose!"

I had managed to pull of the proposal and it was a complete surprise. 

See, I'm a lucky guy.  Now I have a beautiful future wife, who is also way smarter than me.