Our Engagement Story

Jocelyn: Josh and I had been talking about getting married since our first year together, so I knew that he was planning on proposing once we’d passed our third anniversary (in my mind, I assumed it would be some time between spring 2025 and spring 2026). The only thing I asked for from Josh was for no photographer to be present at the proposal and a ring with a colored stone in it (Josh: easy).

We had started a tradition of going to Acadia National Park each year, and in July 2025 we started planning our trip for September. One day, as we were folding laundry—I remember the moment exactly—Josh mentioned that we should do a sunrise hike in Acadia and my immediate thought was, “that’s where he’s going to propose.”(Josh: I’m still not sure how I could have done this any more surreptitiously)

Knowing that it would happen in September, but keeping it to myself that I knew, I asked Josh if he could reach out to my parents in advance of proposing. I suggested that he could call them, since they live in New Jersey and I couldn’t imagine that he would have the opportunity to go down to see them without me knowing. His response was an off-handed, “yeah, maybe I’ll shoot them an email.” I was very surprised, as it seemed very out of character for Josh to not take something like that seriously (Josh: I had gone down to New Jersey to talk with Jocelyn’s parents the week before during a work trip, so I thought I played that off well).

August turned into September, and as our trip approached my anxiety grew. I reminded myself multiple times that it would be just as wonderful of a trip if he didn’t propose, but the uncertainty of not knowing and not being able to ask Josh was driving me insane. (I, meanwhile, was very content with myself for keeping it a surprise for so long…)

The day we left for Acadia, my best friend Caitlin texted me from California to let me know that she had had a dream the night before that I was walking down the aisle and she was helping me with my veil (she is now my Maid of Honor :)).

We arrived Thursday night, and spent a gorgeous sunny Friday hiking, eating lobster rolls, and enjoying each other’s company. I resolved that the proposal would not happen, which was fine because I was having the perfect weekend anyways.

When it came time, I woke us up around 4:30 am, which I had calculated would leave us enough time to get to the trailhead, hike for an hour to a viewpoint I geolocated with Google Earth and photos, and then propose. However, by the time we got to the trailhead I noticed much more light coming up from over the horizon than I had expected. Slightly panicked, I suggested we watch the sunset from the cliffs nearby which faced due East. The next 30 minutes were agonizing as I attempted to seem calm with my heart beating out of my chest (I was so exhausted and content from the day before that I had somehow, after two months of not being able to think about anything but the proposal, forgotten about the proposal). Thankfully, she did say yes, and afterwards we went to get an early breakfast of blueberry pancakes, then promptly went back to bed for a few hours, before spending another beautiful day hiking.