I guess it’s time to share for the first time ever my own proposal story! Since I usuallywrite a blog post of my client’s love stories, I suppose it’s time to write out my own! EEP! A special thanks to my dear friend, Grace Yellow, who photographed all the images of John & I that you’ll see in this blog! She let me edit my own images because she’s got a lot on her plate at the moment, so I gave them a quick run through during my work breaks! :)

WARNING: This is going to be long… :) It’s a bit of a complicated story & it’s the first time I’m really sharing about me & John!

**There’s a video highlight at the end by Chris Ahn Productions with a version of the proposal if you’d like to just see the images & watch that! **

Some little bits of background on me & John… to start, we met during our college years at the University of California, Riverside!

My sophomore year, my small group friends Hannah, Sam, Chris, Jon & I (we’re like a family really) wanted to make an effort to find a community of Christian believers on our campus, and we had heard of this one called Asian American Christian Fellowship (AACF) that we had wanted to try out! If you don’t know what a Christian fellowship entails, it’s a group of people that share a common faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior(though we definitely welcomed people who didn’t know Jesus, too!). It’s a community that joins together to meet with one another for friendship, encouragement, studying the Bible, worshiping God and serving Him on our campus. :)

Along with this desire to find fellowship with other believers of our faith, Hannah & I had actually also really felt convicted of being more intentional with reaching out and sharing the Gospel. So, during our first AACF meeting, as soon as we heard of their Outreach ministry, we signed up (to be honest, I was really nervous)!

Cue: John Kwok! Or well, as time will tell I wrote down “find John Kwonk” in my journal! HAHA! Hannah & I met with John to talk about what his vision for that area of ministry was, and after that we all became friends as we met for meetings and planning for various events! It was all pretty plutonic at first.

My first honest impression was that I thought he was really proud to be Asian. What do I mean by that? Well, the guy had just come back from a mission trip to Japan, and wore grey colored contacts had really really long, spiked hair! And he wore skinny jeans, a coat and scarf, and he had this huge love for K-pop! He actually looked Japanese to me (funnily enough a good friend thought he was even after four straight years of knowing him!), though later I found out he was Chinese! It didn’t really matter, but I just think it’s funny to look back on sometimes! He was really kind and friendly, and I remember he would always say “LAWLS” out loud when he would Laugh Out Loud. Haha! Yup. This was the John I met my sophomore year. I thought he was funny (and a little weird in his mannerisms, but hey, so am I)! :)

Of course, my blog wouldn’t be the same without quotes from John, so I had him email me answers to a couple questions to quote and put into the blog! It’s kind of embarrassing reading what he wrote about me. Haha! His first impression of me is quite shorter than mine:

“My first impression of her was that she was very nice & I was surprised that she was so willing to join the outreach team.”

 

 

We really got closer through outreach planning/prep, prayer meetings and just serving. Then our friendship outside of AACF consisted a lot of photography (he was taking a photography class as an art major), and to be honest, just teasing. After a really spontaneous DTR over the phone one midnight, John’s feelings were made known and then it became known that I liked him back. And thus started our journey!

Before we really decided to date, we read and went through a book called Holding Hands Holding Hearts about Christian dating since neither of us had ever been in a serious relationship, and we both agreed that if we were to spend this time and effort in relationship, we would want it to be one that heads towards marriage. This isn’t for everyone, but this is what worked out for the both of us! After reading the book we fasted from each other for a month to pray and just see if being in a relationship is something we felt God calling us to be in. It was a hard month. HAHA

But it came out good, and we both felt confident to start dating! If you’re wondering, John officially asked me to be his girlfriend with floating lanterns (because I LOVED Tangled at the time), and he even had a sit down dinner with my parents to make his intentions known! He was a trooper & my parents loved him! As did my brothers!

Come September 1st, we will have been officially dating for 5 years! It’s crazy to think that we’ve been dating for so long! Most of it was “long distance” because even though we’re only 1.5 hours away from each other, I wasn’t really good at driving for that long, so most of our dating relationship consisted of finding weekends after he graduated where he’d drive down and visit, or pick me up to take me back to his parent’s house where I’d stay in his sister’s room! It doesn’t sound like distance would have been such an issue, but it really was. We’d only see each other once every other month sometimes! Our phones & Facetime were our best friends. :)

Anyhow, onto the proposal! If you’ve read my posts on my Instagram, you will have read that I had not one–but TWO proposals! Why? Let me explain…

One day, I was working on a project for my mother’s business, and I was searching her computer for images when I accidentally saw an email titled as an invitation for a surprise engagement for John & Margarette! I PROMISE it was an accident! But I saw the date and put two and two together and SPOILED IT. This was right before I was leaving for the weekend to his house, but I was making a stop at my best friend Abi’s house to visit.

The whole drive over, I had a huge panic attack. I can just pretend like I didn’t see it, right? I can just pretend to act surprised when it all happens, right? You can do it, Margarette. I couldn’t do it.

After calling my friend Grace (the photographer I also mentioned above), I told her everything. She’s the queen of killing surprises so I thought she’d understand and help me act cool and collected and pretend that I didn’t know anything. But then I told Abi.

I sat at her house squirming as she gave me the tour and as soon as we sat down to talk I blurted it all out. I FELT HORRIBLE! JUST HORRIBLE! She ended up telling John because she knew that he’d want to know and that a fake surprise wouldn’t be something he’d want. Poor John. :(

“When Margarette found out about the plans for the proposal.. I was in utter shock. I couldn’t believe that a month before the actual proposal, she effectively ruined her own surprise. I was really stressed out because I knew it sucks as a girl to have ruined the biggest event of your life so I really had to come up with something else. I brainstormed with a lot of people and it was really hard trying to figure out a concrete plan. I have to thank Chris and Grace for really stepping in and helping me plan out another proposal. Honestly, when we had finished planning I was really scared that Margarette would find about that one! But thankfully, we played it off really hard and I never mentioned to Margarette anything about the proposal till it actually happened! So I’m really happy for the surprise even though it caused me a lot of grief. Looking back on it, it does make for a really good story and definitely something that I will never forget.”

Apparently my friend Kristy, who I had also seen right after I saw Abi with our friend Grace X., suggested planning the proposal on a different day to keep me surprised! It was funny because this phone call ensued during dinner while I was with her, and John was with her & Grace’s husband and his guys group! I had told Kristy & Grace immediately after I saw them (I was still internally freaking out!), so we were all talking about it when her phone rang and she excused herself to go outside.

& Yeah. I felt REALLY awkward because we never talked about it. That I knew that he knew that I knew that he knew that I knew…. it goes on. Can I also just interject that honestly, I had no anticipation for what was to come. I always told him he could do whatever he wanted, big or small, I just felt that a proposal should be intentional and that’s about it. And I joked that I wished he would serenade me. ;)

So this all brings us to the day of the real proposal. I was actually the one who suggested the date because John, Chris, Grace & I were scouting for a wedding we’re working together on in July! Chris & Grace do video through Chris’ company, Chris Ahn Productions! Check it out! I asked if we could double the day as a day we could take portraits to help update each others’ “About Me”s (mine needs some TLC). So we were all dressed up.

Here are a couple behind the scenes photos during our scouting! The photo on the right was John trying to evade my camera by coming closer so it wouldn’t focus. But I got it, still!

 

 

We work together a lot, and I can say that we definitely keep things light hearted and fun as we work. These BTS photos pretty much capture essentially the down times we have together.

 

 

 

 

Anyway, they moved me along and Chris mentioned wanting to visit this park called Vista Hermosa, because he wanted to scout it out as a potential place to take our July bride & groom since it was on the way back to his house (it isn’t but I don’t know my way around the freeways of LA too much without Waze so I didn’t know). I had absolutely no idea what was about to happen.

After we got to the park, John “left his phone in the car” and went to go get it back. He took FOREVER and I almost killed things by walking back to the car, but Chris quickly stopped me and said he probably just dropped it in the crack, so I stopped and waited still. John was actually putting a wireless mic on!

Then I turned and realized Grace disappeared! So Chris mentioned she might have gone to the bathroom. John came back and without it being scripted at all, he said “Sorry, my phone fell in the crack.” Their lies matched perfectly! Haha! So then we headed up to find Grace, and Chris said he had to “go to the bathroom” (he turned on the mic receiver in the bathroom). As we waited, I spotted Grace! So we walked towards her after Chris came out!

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a decorated bench, but I thought it was a birthday so I had no thoughts about it once so ever…

 

 

 

But then I looked at it again and saw “JOHN & MARGARETTE” and I knew.

 

 

 

 

I’m pretty sure here John was poking my cheeks saying something along the lines of “Youuuuuuuuuu spoiled it.” HAHA! He then surprised me by saying he was going to sing to me. YES. Serenade!!? I didn’t think he’d actually do it! He sang “Sweet Pea,” which is an iconic song we randomly found and sing on our car rides a lot. (Hehe)

 

 

 

 

You can’t tell but we’re slow dancing to it, which John had planned since we slow danced during our first Valentine’s Day together after he made me a nice steak dinner. :)

 

 

 

 

Our proposal story involves a LOT of laughing, as you’ll see in the video. I couldn’t help but laugh and giggle because I was both happy and excited and nervous because I knew I was being filmed. Haha! Also, mainly because John would say things sillily that would make me laugh more! How could I not?! All the laughter truly just made the proposal wholly just us. And then it happened.

 

 

 

 

I couldn’t believe it all happened! I couldn’t even remember fully everything that was said or done right after the proposal because I was honestly just so surprised and so shocked that it happened earlier!

A special, brief thanks to these beautiful friends for helping out with this proposal:

Christine & her husband Andy set everything up prior to the proposal (the bouquet was ordered & delivered by John’s sister, Stephanie & her husband Derek)! Christine’s one of my best friends & a wedding coordinator for http://sweetlymemorableweddings.com/!

 

 

And of course to these two amazing crazies!

 

 

After this proposal, I was notified of two things:

1. I couldn’t tell anybody that he proposed. No one knew about this other than the people there, Abi (who couldn’t be there due to conflicting events she couldn’t miss out on), Kristy, Grace X, his small group and a very small handful of others! I had to wait a week in secrecy (I did a LOT better at this) for the original proposal date!
2. The ring he gave me was a FAKE! I had no idea because for a $6 ring it was pretty dang impressive! He wanted to wait til the actual proposal (and he had to pick it up during that week), to give me the real engagement ring!

We met with friends afterwards for an amazing Korean dinner in LA and then the week of secrecy ensued! It was pretty entertaining talking to people who didn’t know that we were already engaged or that I knew about everything that coming Saturday! :) But it was also pretty hard not telling even my family about it all!

Little did I know that the video at the end of this all was why we kept the secrecy…

So when the Saturday of the original proposal came along, I had no idea what to expect either. I had slept over at Grace Yellow’s house and she drove us to Descanso Gardens. It’s BEAUTIFUL there! :) John had chosen it because it’s nature, and I seriously love nature (minus the bugs)!

They had us re-enact the proposal John had originally planned & envisioned for me. Apparently he had been brainstorming and trying to plan this since the end of last year (SORRY JOHN!!). It was a nice time of just spending time together and enjoying a more secluded space with two of our best friends.

If I had to describe John in three words it’d be wise, patient (for the most part) & weird. John is definitely the researcher between the two of us. I can ask him questions about anything technical and he’ll research it and know it and tell me in ways I’d understand. He knows so many random, interesting facts! He really enjoys studying the Bible, too, which I really appreciate and am encouraged by all the knowledge he has of it. He’s the one in our relationship that’s often a step quicker to draw us back to prayer and bringing things up to the Lord, which is also incredibly wise, I’d say. ;) He’s also pretty darn patient. Not just with me and my antics, but with everyone around him. He will listen to people talk for hours on end and genuinely listen to their struggles and hear them out. His patience added with his weirdness is what I think makes him so good at making new friends and making sure everyone feels included, which I really appreciate! So yes, he’s weird! But again, his weirdness is what makes him and I fit together so well. :)

 

 

 

 

John described me with three words, too, which I didn’t read til now!

“Silly, Encouraging, Loving. Silly because that is the outer Margarette that everyone sees. She is bubbly, crazy at times and overall very silly. Margarette is known to have been very encouraging to friends, family, myself and is always willingly to lend an ear to listen to your problems. Most importantly, Margarette has a true nature of being loving, even when people hurt her or shove her away. This is why I believe that she truly has a servant’s heart to serve and minister to the broken-hearted.

When I’m down or in a slump, Margarette really takes the time to try and encourage me, and just stick by me and try to really make me happier. Oh, and back scratches are awesome too.”

 

 

 

 

Here John gave me the actual real ring, so this was actually another real surprise! (Photos of the ring at the end)

Just a little note: John got down on his knee with the ring in his hand a total of 7 or 8 times on this day for photos & the video! HAHA!

 

 “The thing that attracts me the most is her upmost willingness to support the people (myself included) that she loves. I can’t say I know too many people who put in way over 100% of their time and effort to make sure that the person feels loved and cared for. Another reason would be her holiness and dedication to God. I know that our faith in God together has kept us from turning fights into breakups and has time after time reminded us and humbled us that we are must love one another as Christ loves us.”

– John

 

 

One word that describes our relationship? Weird. & John agrees:

“Weird. Because we really are. Most people think that one of us is weird… but we both are really weird in our own special ways.”

We’re not weird in the stay-away-from-them way (I hope). We’re both really just silly when we’re not being professional or working. We like to do things like sing in weird accents/really ugly together randomly, and just do goofball things here and there that people catch. I’d like to think we’re weird in a good, relatable way. ;)

For instance, HAHA this gross photo:

 

 

 

 

And these funny photos with our friends:

 

 

 

 

After the fake proposal, we took a couple photos around the gardens!

 

 

 

“I think a big thing that makes us “work” is that we really understand each other well. (for the most part). A lot of times we constantly agree on many issues in life, like the same things aesthetically, like a lot of similar foods, and sometimes will even say the same thing at the same time aha.”

– John

I couldn’t say that any better. HAHA! That understanding isn’t something that comes easily during the hard parts, and I think what makes us work through those tough times is that even though we aren’t always perfect at it, we both know that at the end of the day we need God’s grace and His love, and be reminded of how much we ourselves need it. Knowing how much we need that love and grace ourselves helps us learn to forgive each other through the anger, and put each others’ needs first. That commonality of knowing that grace and love we receive through Jesus helps us press on together.

One of the years (I think during our second?) of our dating, we decided to memorize verses, and 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 was one of the verses.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

It’s a verse that’s “cliche” because it’s literally everywhere. Even if you’re not a believer in Jesus, you’ve probably heard it used in books/movies like A Walk to Remember, or seen parts of it written in pretty calligraphy on Pinterest. It sounds like such a heart warming quote when you read the first verse, but honestly if you look at each sentence and dissect it and try doing each of these things, it’s pretty stinking hard. Something we could honestly only do for each other with the help of God. We’re definitely not perfect at it, but with God’s grace, we ask for the ability to be better at truly being loving.

 

 

 

Of course, I couldn’t get through this really short mini session without making silly faces and being hard to photograph since it was a friend taking the photo. SORRY GRACE! (And John, LOL! The photo on the right was taken right before John said his token phrase “Margarette Sia!”) I couldn’t help it!

Afterwards we met up with family and spent time with just them and each other, soaking in everything that happened since it was more “official” and public. We then had a small engagement party that my dearest friends Gail & Sam decorated & planned at the beautiful home of one of our amazingly generous friends! A majority of the guests didn’t know that the proposal actually happened the week before, so the video you’ll see at the end of this was actually played on a projector there, surprising many of them! (SORRY AGAIN FOR LYING!) You can just guess how hard it was to keep that a secret ’til they watched it! It was so hard to answer the “were you surprised today?” question!

It was seriously such an amazing day, and SO much more than I would have ever anticipated! I honestly wasn’t expecting anything, and certainly not anything this crazy! I can’t believe all the work and planning John put into it all and I’m so grateful for the friends who helped along the way. I praise God for the many blessings and am just so excited and thankful for all the love! My heart was/is just so full of joy. :)

John’s sister, Stephanie, with the help of their dad who drove her off to the LA Flower Market, made this beautiful bouquet that I absolutely loved, so the next day I definitely photographed it with the beautiful ring John had custom made for me! The center stone was actually his great grandmother’s, which makes this ring just THAT much more special to me.

 

Again, MANY thanks to Grace Yellow & Chris Ahn for sticking with us on BOTH days! So much love for you both!

And of course, pieces of advices from the happy couple (which is crazily enough John & I this time!)! This is advice we’ve held onto over this time of dating:

“Keep the Lord at the center of your relationship and everything will be okay.”

– John

 

“As James 1:19 says, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Be patient and listen to one another to really hear the other person’s needs. And bring it up to the Lord. Prayer is key.”

– Me

 

And that’s a wrap! :) Thanks for reading, friends!

 

Now enjoy the video Chris made for us! I had no idea what was going to be put into it! I didn’t even know John was mic’d so it’s slightly embarrassing, but I guess it’s again just so perfectly fitting for us! THANKS CHRIS! :)

 

JtoM Proposal from Christopher Ahn on Vimeo.