Early in our relationship, JR took me to the opening night of a romantic Tuscan restaurant downtown. Since, he told me he occasionally got e-mails and calls from the manager about specials.
One night many months later he told me they were having a “Customer Appreciation” night with free wine and appetizers and asked if I’d like to go with him and my best friend. I agreed and when we got there, the staff seated us and thanked us for being “Valued Customers.”
There was a disposable camera and fancy letter on our table on the restaurant’s stationary and I hoped it was from JR! To my dismay, it was from the Manager thanking all the guests for coming and encouraging everyone to take pictures for the website throughout the evening. I noticed all the tables had them, not just ours.
As we enjoyed drinks and food, JR got up for the restroom. When he came back he told me he ran into someone he knew and he’d like me to meet. He led me downstairs to another part of the restaurant but stopped in the middle of the floor. He whispered, “this is all facade, it’s all for you†before he got down on his knee and popped the question. Everyone around clapped and took pictures. “What good timing that everyone had cameras!†I thought.
As JR stood, he turned me around for an even bigger surprise and I saw that many of the flashes were coming from one big group of cameras behind us - our families and friends who had been hiding and witnessed the whole event.
As it turns out, all those letters on the tables were instructions for the customers to wait for the moment to take our pictures and commemorate the proposal! We have hundreds of pictures of every second and every angle of the proposal. We enjoyed the rest of the night celebrating in a private room with everyone.
I still can’t believe that JR got an ENTIRE restaurant staff AND patrons to play along with this “customer appreciation night†just for me.
- J.R., Fort Worth, Texas