Dear Everyone ~
Once upon a recent time,
a young man named Spenser wanted to propose to his true love.
Being a modern man, he sought inspiration … well, I’ll let him tell you.
“I kept Googling ‘proposal suggestions’ to no avail.
After talking with my mom, I thought having a beautiful book
would be a great tool for expressing my feelings during the proposal!”
Spenser rang me mid-summer and explained his mission.
He acknowledged that he was not a paper person in the least
and that he would welcome my suggestions for what
he should collect to make the book charming & perfect.
I would get to handle the entire project from beginning to end:
print out all the photos, assemble the pages in sequence,
calligraph the headings for the pages,
and attach all the bits and pieces.
And, of course, make the book cover.
Spenser came in and selected two blue fabrics
and an adorable photo of Emily & himself for the cover.
Spenser then set about documenting his & Emily’s romance,
from their first date, to the upcoming trip on which
he planned to propose with the finished book in hand.
Because he’s not (usually) a paper person,
he needed to collect ephemera after the fact—including receipts—
to tell the story of their dates and other memorable moments.
Here’s how he did it.
“I contacted everyone by email and/or phone.
For some, I picked up the trinkets in person.
For others, I asked to have them mailed to my office or apartment.
Surprisingly, most of the restaurants, bars, etc. were very responsive.
Many of them went ‘above and beyond’ and included
multiple trinkets, receipts, etc. that could be used in the scrapbook.
I suspect this was in part due to my giving them full details up front,
so they knew it was for a worthy cause!”
“I also sent Bari probably two dozen emails full of photos.
And I checked various dates in my Outlook calendar
to ensure I was giving her the right ordering.”
In mid-September,
Spenser came to the studio to pick up the completed book,
which he then smuggled to Europe in his luggage.
After running the Berlin marathon, he & Emily proceeded
to the South of France, where Spenser planned to propose.
And several days after that,
I received a triumphant and exuberant three-word email:
“She said yes!”
Of course I knew she would!
And then Spenser, bless his romantic heart,
sent me two photos of The Proposal Moments,
annotated with a note.
“The first photo is right after the proposal.
The second one was when I gave her the scrapbook,
before flipping through it and proposing.
We went through it page-by-page, and as we turned to the last page,
I got down on one knee. She said yes, and we were both ecstatic!
She loved the scrapbook.”
The next week,
Emily & Spenser were surprised at the Chicago airport
by both sets of parents. Spenser adds,
“We immediately showed them the scrapbook.
They, too, loved it!”
Fairy tale ending,
Bari