Brennan & Brianna: The Proposal Story

For those hoping for a brief rundown of the proposal, this will likely be disappointing. There is much to tell about their sweet story. If you love all things romantic, I believe you’ll find it worth the read…

It happened on Brianna’s birthday (long since planned that way by Brennan, but a complete surprise to her.) They had talked about marriage for some time, and it was something they both really wanted. Unbeknownst to her, Brennan had already sought (and received) the blessing from her parents, and he had already bought her beautiful engagement ring (a princess cut diamond, with a beautiful setting in white gold.)

You may remember he attends college in South Carolina. She, on the other hand attends college in Cincinnati while living at home. In order that she not suspect anything, on the break closest to her birthday, they "celebrated." He took her out to dinner, then took her shopping at her favorite store and bought her a beautiful dress. As far as she knew, that was her birthday gift from Brennan (hee, hee). Surprising her on her actual birthday required a good bit of behind-the-scenes planning and a “top secret” trip home which, because of the distance, resulted in two days of missed classes. He was undeterred. He happily made the necessary arrangements and began planning a beautiful and wonderfully elaborate proposal.

It involved visiting 12 places that had special significance to them. (He planned to go beforehand to leave a rose and a special memory at each location.) By the time they reached the last stop, she would have gathered a dozen roses, relived many special memories of their relationship and there, he would propose. Sounds great, right? Well, about 10 days before her birthday, he happened to hear for the first time, the proposal story of some very good friends (Noah & Nicole). It was so strikingly similar to what he had planned, he couldn’t believe it! If you knew Brennan….well, that would never do! He was convinced he had to come up with a whole new plan. He began brainstorming like never before. After a couple of days, he announced…"I’ve got it! I’ll write her a play!" "Write her a play!?" we asked. "Yep." He reminded us that he worked best under pressure and he was confident he could pull it off.

He immediately began spending every spare moment writing. When he finished Act 1, he asked if I would like to read it. (Are you kidding?!) With the very first line, I was drawn in. It was their story and it was written so beautifully. As I finished reading, I had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. That was just the response he was hoping for! He continued on, occasionally letting me read how it was progressing. It was amazing. Within 3 days he had the rough draft complete.

The play begins with a Dad tucking his young son into bed. As they talk about the events of the day, the little boy is thinking of a million things to talk about, in the hopes of holding off bedtime a little longer. The conversation turns to girls. He asks his Dad why girls act the way they do. In an effort to explain, he decides to tell him a story. It’s about a little boy in kindergarten who meets a little girl…and the story progresses. You soon realize the little boy in the story is the Dad. As the lights go down on Scene 1, across the stage the lights come up on a Mom tucking in her daughter, engaging in much the same kind of conversation, about little boys. The Mom begins to tell her a story, about meeting a boy in Kindergarten when she was a little girl. And so it goes.

The story weaves beautifully back and forth between the Mom & daughter to the Dad and son and follows the little boy and little girl as they grow up and fall in love. Along the way, there are certain scenes acted out in little vignettes as the story is told. When it reaches the point where the boy leaves to go to South Carolina for college and the girl stays home, the stage goes dark except for one spotlight shining down on an open Bible. It looks as though another vignette is about to start when the other players leave the stage. But for the presence of the Lord, the auditorium is now empty. At this point, Brennan takes Brianna’s hand and leads her to the stage where the Bible rests. He recites a passage that has become so dear to them all throughout their relationship, Song of Solomon 8:6-7:

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement flame.

Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.

And then…with words unwritten in the script, known only to the two of them, he asks her to be his bride.

With help from the Lord and several others, he not only pulled it off, it was a huge success. Jordyn & Joshua, my niece and nephew played the parts of the boy and girl, and 5 (yes, 5) of their mutual friends made the trip along with Brennan to play the parts of the Mom and Dad, as well as Brennan and Brianna and other characters in the vignettes. Everyone who took part has an background in theater, so they were able to quickly memorize the script, figure out the blocking and lighting, etc. and add other touches that according to Brennan made it even better than he could have ever imagined.

On the day of her birthday, Brianna and her Mom, Lisa had plans to have lunch at one of their favorite restaurants. She was trying to celebrate, but missing Brennan badly and understandably a bit sad. Unbeknownst to Brianna, a plan was in place and Brennan was there. She and her Mom sat down. They were looking over the menu when her Mom said…"I have to go." Brianna said…"you have to go?" "Why!?" Her Mom said…"Because your birthday present is here…" She directed her attention toward Brennan. Brianna whirled around and the moment she saw him, she squealed, they hugged, she cried and people cheered. (What a moment!) At that point, Lisa, with her mission accomplished, wished them a wonderful time together and left the restaurant.

After a great lunch they were able to spend the rest of the afternoon together. As evening approached, he told her they had tickets for something called "Untitled Play," which was being performed at our church (where unbeknownst to her, the engagement team was working frantically, making the final preparations).

When they arrived, they took their seats front and center and the play began. She realized when no one else was in the audience, it was something special he had written for her birthday. She was stunned when she saw their mutual friends who had traveled home to play the parts. It was then she suspected this might be part of a proposal. Afterwards, she said it "couldn’t have been more perfect" which made Brennan a very happy young man.

Once it was apparent he had asked her and she had accepted, the engagement team made their way back into the auditorium, cheering and celebrating with them the wonderful news. Before long, they were off to share their joyous news with everyone else. As you might imagine, everyone was thrilled for them, yet not surprised at all that the couple voted “Most Likely to be Married” in High School, had committed that day to do just that.

We couldn’t be more happy for them. We adore Brianna. Her family adores Brennan. Their relationship has always been a beautiful testimony, centered firmly on Christ. We pray God’s greatest blessings for their future together, and look forward to seeing it unfold.

Oh, and the play? It now has a title… It’s called "She Said Yes."