A Post for My Husband: Happy Anniversary, Babe!

This Sunday will mark 23 years of marriage for my husband and me. It doesn’t seem possible because I’m hardly old enough to have been married that long (haha). I had a lot of fun last year likening writing to marriage, but this year I want to share our engagement story, which has always been one of our family favorites.

I wrote this piece last year and submitted it to a publication. They didn’t pick it up, but now seems the perfect time to dust it off and share. Happy Anniversary, Scott! Here’s to at least 23 more years! I love you!

Magic Kingdom, Indeed

Hand linked with mine, my boyfriend, Scott, serpentined us through gaggles of other couples and families corralling happy children. June in Florida is hot, the sun shining without mercy, but the enchanting day was worth it. A nervous energy bounced off Scott and increased my excitement about the illustrious Magic Kingdom parade and fireworks we would soon watch.

My first trip to Disney World had been delightful so far. I wished I could’ve gone as a kid, but experiencing it for the first time as an adult was more magical than I imagined. We navigated toward the Partners statue, hoping to stake out a good spot to enjoy the evening’s spectacular. It was well more than an hour before the electrical parade would begin, but we needed to claim space early to get a good view.

We squeezed in against the fence surrounding the famed statue of Walt Disney holding hands with Mickey Mouse and waited. Scott continued to fidget as he scanned the area. He seemed particularly edgy. I thought it was sweet he wanted my inaugural viewing of the nighttime festivities to be special.

“I don’t like this spot. I think we can do better.” He took my hand again and steered us toward Liberty Square. We approached the bridge and noted some lovely white metal benches. How perfect!

A young, enthusiastic cast member approached us. “Hi! I’m Andy.” He smiled broadly, and we introduced ourselves. The three of us chatted for a few minutes, and we immediately liked this nice, young man. Andy asked where we were from and all about our Disney adventure so far. We shared that this was my first visit, so we were eager for the parade and fireworks. If possible, his face lit up even more.

He said, “This is a VIP section, and I’d love for you to sit here tonight. You guys come back here just before the parade, and I’ll let you in. But for now, you don’t have to sit around and wait. Go enjoy more of the park and come back about ten minutes before the parade starts.”

We thanked Andy and excitedly walked through Liberty Square toward Frontierland to explore more. We couldn’t believe our good fortune. How nice that Andy just knew we were hoping for something extra special for the evening.

We managed to snag a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and stopped to grab a quick bite. The parade start time neared as the sun began to set, and we hustled back toward the VIP section on the Liberty Square bridge.

As we walked up, a different cast member had begun stringing rope in front of the benches.

“I’m sorry, these are VIP seats. Do you have reservations?”

Scott and I exchanged concerned glances. “Well…”

We turned to look for Andy when he bounded up yelling, “These two are mine. They belong to me!”

The first cast member looked up, nodded, and continued his roping chore.

“I’m glad you made it back.” Andy moved the rope from a bench as he told us about some celebrities who had enjoyed the parade from the very same spot. Giddiness overtook us, and we felt special and spoiled.

“I hope you enjoy the parade and the fireworks. Have a magical night!” He left us with one last smile and a wink.

Before long, characters, boisterous music, and floats covered with thousands of lights descended upon us. I was like a kid again. I couldn’t stop laughing, waving, and clapping as we took lots of photos. Scott seemed to be enjoying himself, but he was still a little distracted.

Finally, the fireworks began. I enjoy a great firework display, but launch them as the backdrop to the legendary Cinderella Castle, and they become next-level. I was enraptured, oohing and aahing over the explosions when Scott dropped to a knee beside me. Suddenly, all his fidgeting and anxiety made sense.

Scott sweetly shared his heart with me and asked me to become his wife. Tearfully, I told him of course I would marry him as he slipped the stunning ring on my finger. It sparkled magnificently, reflecting the colorful fireworks above. We hugged and kissed and squealed. Well, I squealed, at least. We cozied up on our bench to finish enjoying the fireworks finale.

As the show ended, we noticed a man sitting on one of the other benches smiling at us. Until that point, we had been alone in the VIP area, as far as we could tell.

“Did you just get engaged?” His smile broadened.

“We did.”

He offered to take our photo, and Scott handed him our camera. We flashed joyful smiles as he captured the moment and then returned our camera.

“The best piece of advice I can give you is to keep God at the center of your marriage. You do that, keep him in the middle, and you can weather anything. Congratulations.” He smiled again, then turned and melted into the crowds now beginning to move toward the park exit.

Scott and I agreed that sounded like excellent advice. We were so thrilled with the amazing turn of events, that we wanted to find Andy and thank him. Scott especially wanted to express his gratitude for helping make his proposal so extraordinary. He confided in me that he had inquired about special proposal packages, but they had been too cost-prohibitive, so he’d prayed to find the perfect place to propose.

We approached a cast member and realized it was the man who had roped off the VIP area before the parade. We asked him about Andy, hoping to locate our new friend. His face twisted in confusion.

“Yeah, he was the younger cast member who told you earlier that we were going to be sitting here. Don’t you remember? We really want to thank him.”

“I don’t have an Andy. I’m sorry, I don’t know who you’re talking about.” The man seemed genuinely confused and smiled apologetically before moving on.

Well, that was odd. We looked around another few minutes hoping to spot Andy, but he was nowhere to be found. Hands entwined again, we joined the masses of people merging toward the exit.

As it turned out, some of Scott’s family was also enjoying Disney World at the same time we were there. We met up with them for a mini-celebration. As we told the story of how our engagement unfolded, we couldn’t help but speculate about the mysterious but wonderful Andy. We also shared about the nice man who took our picture and reminded us about the importance of a God-centered marriage. Our family celebrated with us and agreed that it seemed that we possibly encountered not one, but two angels that night.

We’ve since returned to Magic Kingdom with our kids a few times and have taken a family photo in our special alcove each visit. Any time we recount our engagement story, we can’t help but wonder about our angel Andy. And though we never got the photo-taking, advice-offering stranger’s name, we have been taking his suggestion to heart for twenty-three years now.