When grad student Ayana showed up to the W hotel in New York City, she thought she was meeting her boyfriend Ryan at his office holiday party. He told her to meet him upstairs in the company room, but when she walked in, the party was all about her. Patrick proposed in style and hired a photographer to catch the whole thing on camera. See the sweet photos, now.
With help from New York City-based wedding planner Fallon Carter and her team, Patrick pulled off the perfect proposal without a hitch. The plan: To lure Ayana to the W Hotel in New York City and have all the details ready to go and photographed before she arrived.
“Funny thing is, I never wanted a diamond ring until he took me to the jewelry store,” says Ayana. “After that, I dreamt of a Tacori diamond ring (the one he got me) but it seemed far-fetched. I couldn’t knowingly expect something that expensive that’s only purpose is being a shiny thing on my finger.” Patrick came through just the same.
With breathtaking views right outside the window, Patrick began preparing the suite with love.
Sentimental groom-to-be Patrick held on to all of the letters, tickets and photographs from their love story, so he decided to carefully display them throughout the room.
Rose petals lined the path Ayana would take to Patrick when she walked into the hotel suite.
Fresh flowers in pretty vases lined the room.
Patricks waits patiently for Ayana to arrive. (She thinks she's going to be walking on him watching a football game with friends.)
A shocked and confused Ayana makes her way into the room. “I didn’t see the ring at first and his words I don’t remember,” she says. “I responded to the amount of love I felt through his energy with a yes.”
“I thought he was joking,” Ayana explains. “I was honestly so surprised. I thought to myself that it was strange that I wasn’t balling my eyes out, but then I thought, damn if I do cry, I’ll ruin my makeup.”
Patrick and Ayana share a romantic embrace as the reality of what's just happened begins to set in. How precious!
“We get along really well with each other’s parents,” says Ayana. “When he lived in Indiana, I would spend my weekends at his parents’ house, and now that I’m in California, he spends his weekends at my parents’ house. “
“I think he chose to marry me because we can talk about anything,” Ayana admits.
Champagne time!
Now that they’re engaged, Ayana and Patrick plan to take their time and wait until after they both graduate from grad school to tie the knot.
“Ryan is the best man for me because we have fun together,” says Ayana. “He has never hurt me, and I love the person I am when I’m with him.”
“He motivates me,” Ayana tells us. “We sacrifice for each other, but we have the freedom to be the people we want to be. We both have goals and support each other in them.”
“My friends say that I’m really lucky because he is such a genuinely nice person,” Ayana admits.
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