Determining how you're going to ask the girl of your dreams to marry you is never an easy task. You want to make sure that it's done right and a memorable moment for both of you. You hear other people's stories about how they did it or where they went and you find ideas to incorporate into your plan.

For me, I can't really say that I used anything from anyone else's stories.  It was an epiphany that I had one day.

It was January 2007, and Leah and I were trying to plan our summer vacation.  After considering several places, we decided to visit Amelia Island, and take our dog Luke with us.  At this time, all this was is a simple vacation.  As time progressed into the summer, I began to realize that there was no doubt, Leah was the girl for me. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this amazing woman.

How was I going to make a proposal that was appropriate for a woman like her?  We had our vacation coming up in July and Leah was starting graduate school in August.  I had to come up with something quick.  I decided to secretly turn our vacation into an engagement trip.

First, I had to buy a ring and ask Leah's parents for their blessing.  Leah had given me specific details on the type of ring she wanted.  Easy enough.  I went to Diamonds Direct and found exactly what she was looking for.  Next came the tough part - asking Mr. and Mrs. Byerly for their blessing to marry their only daughter.  I called up Mr. Byerly and requested an impromptu meeting with them on a sunny afternoon up at their Lake Norman condo. When I walked in, Mrs. Byerly was already beaming, as she knew why I was there.  After sitting there and sweating what must have been a gallon, I finally asked them.  Fortunately, they had no reservations and were genuinely happy for both of us.

As the vacation started I mentioned to Leah that we ought to have more pictures made while we were there at the beach. I told her what type of wardrobe I thought would look good for the both of us. Little did she know, that I had already contracted a professional photographer to meet us at a certain spot on a specific night.

When the time came, Leah, Luke and myself hoped in the car.  I started driving around like I was looking for the perfect spot.  I passed several spots that Leah later admitted she thought would be good enough.  We finally arrived at the perfect spot. As I got out, I started looking around for the photographers, Pam Bell and her daughter.

Leah asked me what I was looking for, and I confessed that I had hired a professional photographer to take our pictures.  She still had no idea about what was to come.

As time went on, we took picture after picture - on the beach with Luke, without Luke, posing on the boardwalk, posing on the dunes, you name it.  After about an hour and a half, I gave the secret nod to Pam.

Pam placed us in a position that made it easy for me to turn to Leah.  As I turned to her, I started professing my feelings about her to her.  Knowing what a prankster I am, she started shaking her head back and forth, as if she were saying "you'd better not be joking around."   My nerves started to get the best of me.  I dropped down on one knee (my good one of course), pulled out this gorgeous ring she had picked out, and asked her to marry me. Pam and her daughter, snapping picture after picture, were able to capture this special moment for us. When we finally calmed down, we realized...."we're engaged"!!

The rest, as they say, IS HISTORY!!!!