John’s version of the proposal…

I wanted to propose to Gwen on a day that had some meaning and would be a surprise for her. We were going to see El Vez (the Mexican Elvis) on the 21st and it occurred to me that it would be really cool if I could do it on stage as part of the show. So on the 18th, I emailed El Vez at the email address found on his web site and I had a reply the next day. He said he would be glad to incorporate my proposal into the show and he had the perfect spot for it too! I really didn’t think he’d respond so quickly or that he would say yes. El Vez gave me the number of someone in his group to discuss the details. Once I knew what was going to happen, I planned what I was going to say and tried to make sure Gwen didn’t suspect a thing. Gwen suspected I was going to propose on the 19th, then the 20th, then the 21st. I kept assuring her each day that it wasn’t the day and she could then relax. Of course, I was lying on the 21st. We had dinner that night at Pasta Pomodoro and I was unable to eat half of my meal I was so nervous. We drove to our friend’s house to drive over together. I had called them a couple of days before to alert them to the plan so that they could help out.

When we got to Slim’s the Groovie Ghoulies were on stage. Our friends moved Gwen away from the merchandise table so that I could get things going.
My instructions were to talk to Ashley at the table and she would introduce me to the roadie Stefan which she did. Stefan then explained to me where in the show El Vez would announce Gwen’s name, where we should position ourselves close to the stage, and then he took the ring. I rejoined Gwen with a pass that Ashley had given me so that we could go backstage to have our picture taken with El Vez. I didn’t expect this, but it did provide an excuse for why I had left the group for such a long time, and we have a memento from the show. Prior to the show beginning, our friends pushed us to the front of the stage so that when the time came we could jump onstage when the time arrived. I had prepared my words, but about 5 minutes before that I decided to change what I was going to say. This freaked me out a little. Of course right after this Gwen told me she was thirsty. Unfortunately, I responded kind of sharply, that if she could wait a few minutes I would get her something. We then got to the part of the show where the female singers give El Vez a present which was a diamond ring. Inside the present that contained the ring for El Vez was a second box which contained the ring for Gwen. It was at this point that El Vez called Gwen Dapper to the stage. I joined her as well. For the next 30 seconds or so the crowd went crazy and Gwen was in tears. I said a few words thanking El Vez, said how happy I’d be if Gwen would be my wife then got down on my knee and asked her to marry me. She said yes. El Vez then broke out into the next song which was about receiving a diamond ring for Christmas which is why it was appropriate to do the proposal at this time. We were invited to stay on stage and dance. I am not a very good dancer, so I embarrassed myself a bit. After the song, we walked off stage and received congratulations from some audience members. Gwen’s closest friend was there which made it extra special for her. In fact, Gwen was speechless for about 45 minutes after it happened and she was shaking too. When the show was over we met El Vez again and also got to meet a couple of members of the Groovie Ghoulies. It turns out that El Vez is an ordained minister and he said he would do our wedding if we asked and he was available. The Groovie Ghoulies also offered to be the band at our reception too. We’re going to try to get both of them to appear. So now, Gwen will always remember the proposal happened at El Vez in front of 300 people on the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year, which will now be remembered as the brightest day of the year.