Gio surprised his long-time girlfriend Charley with a proposal in the greenhouse at Planting Fields Arboretum!

As a ruse to get Charley to the park, he told her to get dressed up for a surprise date he was taking her on. To keep the location a surprise, he asked her to keep her eyes closed as he led her to a bench inside the Main Greenhouse.

He laid out his handmade “Will You Marry Me?” signs on a bench surrounded by tropical flowers and asked her to open her eyes. He got down on one knee, presented her with the gorgeous ring, and she said yes!

I love the way Charley tells their proposal story:

On April 28th, Gio told me to get an outfit ready because we had plans for Saturday. My mother literally forced me to get my nails done but I didn’t think anything of it. On Saturday, Gio was no longer home by the time I woke up. Turns out he had an emergency at work. I know what an emergency in healthcare means — being stuck at work for hours. I chilled all morning in my PJs thinking our plans were cancelled. Next thing I know he’s home asking me why I wasn’t ready. He told me everything at work was fine but in reality everyone at his job knew he was proposing and they forced him to leave.

When we got close to our destination, he insisted I needed to be blindfolded. We walked for what seemed to be miles and when I opened my eyes, there he was standing next to a “Will You Marry Me” sign that he made himself, in the middle of the most beautiful green house with Hawaiian music playing.

Little did I know that 6 months prior he had my ring custom made by my favorite jeweler. He picked the diamond, the setting, and included every single detail that he knew I wanted. Gio had plan a, b, c — in case it rained, in case the flowers didn’t bloom, etc.

The ring was hidden under his bed for 4 months and he freaked out when one of my lipsticks fell under and I went to get it. 

When Gio mentioned he wanted to marry me a couple of years back, I just said “I’m going to dedicate my life to traveling the world to help the most vulnerable. You don’t want to marry somebody like that.” As the end of my first humanitarian trip gets closer, after 8 weeks abroad, I know he absolutely meant it when he said he would support my every dream. 

Thank you Lin Pernille Photography for capturing our day so beautifully. 

As the excitement sunk in, we walked around the rest of the park taking photos to commemorate the exciting news.

Congratulations, Charley & Gio!!

💍

See more proposal stories here or learn about proposal packages here.