Terms of Engagement

Read the winning engagement stories from the Best Marriage Proposal contest, cosponsored by Marriage Partnership and Robbins Bros Jewelers.

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Grand Prize winner
A Fairy Tale Come True

I first met Andrea in 1995 when we were placed on the same mission team in the Ukraine. To pass the time while riding trains cross-country, we read to each other from an old book of local fairy tales I'd found. We grew to be close friends, and two years later, after returning to the States, I invited Andrea to my hometown of Pensacola, Florida.

As we walked the beach one evening, enjoying the sunset, we were approached by a homeless man who rambled on about "love lost," and gave us a treasure from his sack—a beautiful handmade wooden book with leather binding and parchment pages.

Surprised by his gift, we watched him walk away and sat down to read the book. We opened it to find an old fairy tale about a beautiful young girl named Odette. The book contained charming hand-drawn illustrations, and it wasn't long before Andrea realized that the drawings and story mirrored her life story.

Finally, it dawned on her that this was a set-up, and that I'd made the book. (The old vagabond was a friend of mine who eagerly played the part!)

The fairy tale told of Odette's travel to a faraway land to tell the people of Christ's love, and how she built a relationship with another young missionary named Jonathan. The story progressed to a time when Odette and Jonathan were walking together on a serene beach, enjoying the sunset, and they received a surprise visit from a vagabond. The drifter talked of love and gave them a special book that inspired Jonathan to kneel in the sand and ask Odette for her hand in marriage. The story ended as Jonathan awaited a response from Odette (the story couldn't be finished until Andrea gave an answer).

I then closed the book, knelt on the sand, and asked Andrea if she would be my wife. She tearfully replied yes, and we were married soon after. We're still missionaries serving in eastern Europe, and now have three daughters—the first named Abigail Odette.

Bob and Andrea Burnham
Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia
Married: February 7, 1998

Runners Up
A Moonlight Canoe Ride—at the Y

Ever since Rebecca and I started dating, I thought we might get married. So early in our relationship, when I asked her "nonchalantly" about her dream proposal, I listened closely. It was an intricate outdoor lakeside fantasy, complete with floating candles and a canoe ride.

A year and a half later, I was ready and eager to propose. There was only one problem: it was December. December in Michigan means frozen lakes, which are somewhat bad for canoeing.

So the elaborate planning began.

I called some camps and found one that would let me borrow a canoe. Then I needed a lake. I made some more calls, explaining my plight, and found a YMCA with an indoor pool that was willing to let me bring in a canoe.

Some friends and I drove to the camp to get the canoe. And two nights, some spray-painted cardboard trees, and several floating candles later, I was ready to propose.

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Originally published in: Marriage Partnership, 2005, Spring, Page 26

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