Andrew and Catherine: A Surprise Proposal for a Detective
Andrew plans a surprise proposal in New Orleans for the woman who ruins every surprise
It’s not Easy Surprising a Person who Solves Mysteries for a Living
Maybe she watched too much Carmen Sandiego as a kid but Catherine is a natural sleuth. In the length of her relationship with Andrew she has ruined every surprise he’s ever tried to create for her by figuring it out. If she can’t get him to answer questions directly she lays traps to try to sniff out the surprise. This time Andrew was intent on making sure she didn’t figure out that he was going to propose to her during their trip to New Orleans. Which is why he hired me, New Orleans only Surprise Proposal Expert.
Crafting the Ruse
A solid surprise needs a solid backstory. But that can be difficult to invent when your partner has an hour by hour itinerary for your trip (Catherine is also a natural planner!). Not only did she have all of their excursions planned but she even made these really cute digital info sheets with all of their schedule written out. It was a cute way to expend some vacation excitement energy and make sure they got to fit in all of the stops they wanted to on a very short two-day trip.
I had Andrew send me their itinerary so I could figure out the best time and place to fit the proposal in where it wouldn’t seem sus. He had originally thought that the Garden District day was going to be the one. But with entries like “visit cemetery” and “ride streetcar” with location info it was impossible for me to know where they were actually going to be.
So I looked at their French Quarter day and it looked like there was going to be plenty of time when they were near Jackson Square to fit in a Surprise. The trick was going to be throwing her off.
She had already tried to find out if he was planning a surprise proposal by telling him she wasn’t going to get her nails done before the trip and gauge his reaction. He played it cool saying “yeah, sure, don’t go if you don’t want to” instead of urging her to go as he might if he was going to propose.
Throwing in a few Curveballs
To throw her off the scent, I asked Andrew to take her by popular landmarks and dawdle a bit for selfies. If she expected a proposal to come and it didn’t happen in front of the St. Louis Cathedral or inside of Jackson Square, she might start to doubt it would happen at all! After Beignets I told him he should suggest walking to the French Market to pick up a gift for his mother. There’s nothing romantic about the French Market or the walk to it. Or so she might think!
There’s a hidden gem along that walk that I started using for Proposals this year. It’s been a rain backup plan for ages but I never got the chance to use it. It photographs beautifully and is a special, somewhat secret little spot that most tourists don’t wander into. I showed Andrew the spot and he was sold. The best part? Even if it rained we were good to go.
Pulling off the ultimate Surprise
I brought along Evan, my trusty traffic cop assistant to make sure nobody walked behind Andrew and Catherine during the proposal. And man, I sure am glad I had him because he saved the day! I had the spot cleared as Andrew and Catherine were getting close. But just before they walked into the archway, a woman talking on the phone walked ahead of them and sat on the fountain! Andrew played it cool and turned into the alley to give me a chance to clear the spot again. I hurried Evan over to quietly ask her to move and then stationed him just outside of the archway in case other passersby decided to muck things up.
Andrew saw Evan do his thing and led Catherine back to the spot. I jumped into position and started firing as Andrew pulled off surprising Catherine for the very first time. Catherine actually had no idea! She thought that maybe he was going to propose on this trip but everything he’d done to conceal the proposal worked. She was giddy with excitement and I gave Andrew a big ole high five. Mission accomplished!
Having a plan ready for any eventuality is the key to pulling off successful surprise proposals. This was proposal number 106 and I’m so glad I had the tools I gained in those other 105 to help Andrew make this happen. Even if the proposal had been as flawless as it was I would’ve felt like a bit of a failure if she hadn’t been completely surprised. So PHEW! My self-worth remains intact. 😂
Here’s a selection of Andrew’s successful New Orleans SURPRISE Proposal to Catherine.
Want to plan your own surprise for the sleuth of your dreams?
