The Gondola Ride

My fiancee and I met through a mutual friend at the hospital where we both worked. After dating just over a year, he found out that he was accepted into a graduate degree program four hours away from home. We decided to take a three-week trip to Europe to celebrate. After traveling through England, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, we made it to Italy on Day 13. My fiancee planned an elaborate surprise engagement on a gondola in Venice! He asked another couple we met on the trip to film it for us. Just as we were going under a beautiful bridge in the canal, he got on one knee (which is kind of hard to do on a boat!) and asked me to marry him. Everyone standing on the bridge started clapping as the gondolier began playing the wedding march on the accordion. I was totally surprised! It was more romantic than anything I had ever hoped for. We were married on February 25th on the beach of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands with our family and friends in attendance.

Jenni(St. Louis)