Anna
flew over from Vancouver to Ottawa to visit Andrew at the Laurentian Leadership
Center where he did a semester of study in Ottawa. On the day of the engagement,
Anna and Andrew spent the day exploring the town. They went to the museum of
civilization where they test drove a few cars and
then went to an IMAX film. They arrived back at the house at around 4:00.
This
Laurentian House is an hundred year old Victorian
mansion. It's a heritage home in Ottawa because of its priceless stain glass
windows, wooden carved doorways, beautiful tapestry and high ceilings. Andrew
walked Anna up the 6 flights of stairs to the room where she was staying and
told her to get dressed for a formal evening. They were both getting ready to
celebrate there “two year dating anniversary”. When it was time, Andrew led
Anna downstairs, where there was a 30-foot red carpet
with rose pedals that led into the lower dinning room. The dinning room was
large and the main table had been replaced with a smaller round
table set for two. Andrew made Anna dinner and had classical music playing
in the background. The house was already equipped with fancy silverware and
dishes so that helped make everything look classy. Each of the rooms in the
house have these large sliding doors which made everything really private.
After dinner there was dancing. Andrew and Anna went into another private room
with a beautiful chandelier with a floor covered with scented rose pedals and
about a hundred candles lit throughout the room. A CD was playing on a stereo
with “their songs” and they danced until it
was time to open presents!
Andrew handed her a larger box, which had a smaller gift on top. She opened the
small gift first and it was a voice recording picture frame, which they have
passed back and forth to each other since dating the past 2 years. He recorded a
message that said "Anna, I have to be honest with you... the big gift is a
decoy." At which point he reached under the table and pulled out a smaller
box and said "Your real gift is in here". He gave her the
ring, she said yes, and then they danced some more. It was wonderful! Anna
had completed a scrapbook for the occasion and they spent the next 45 minutes
looking at it (Andrew in aw) and walking down memory
lane.
