My fiancée, Katie, and I have been together about two and a half years now. We met in college; she was a grad student and I was an undergraduate. We instantly became great friends and bonded over the fact that we both had massive crushes on other girls in the dorms. We both had our hearts broken and spent a lot of time crying. Well, long story short, we both eventually realized that there was more than friendship between us, and that the other girls were only meant to help bring us together.

After two happy years of dating (and living together), Katie finally decided that she was going to pop the question. She had planned to propose the day after I graduated (because I didn’t want to be engaged while I was still a student). She had planned to bring me to the Boston Public Gardens to propose on the Swan Boats. But when Katie picked up the ring, she just couldn’t hold it in that long...

The afternoon of April 29, 2010, Katie met me at school. We walked down the street to the train station and she was acting very strange. She kept stopping me and telling me she loved me. I just knew something was up. Then she pulled a ring box out of her pocket. Before she could even pop the question, she burst into tears. I started to laugh and said, “Are you asking me to marry you??” and she just nodded as the tears streamed down her face. She was at a loss for words. I gave her a BIG hug and said, “Of course, I will marry you!”

I had always had this vision in my head of your typical cheesy proposal that involves a candlelit dinner and a grand speech, but Katie’s proposal was so real and spontaneous and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

We will be getting married on the beach in Provincetown, Mass., in 2011. We can’t wait!