Engagement Elves

I figure that this is an appropriate story to tell today, seeing how it’s Valentine’s and all. This past Friday, my boyfriend’s friend proposed to his girlfriend, and my boyfriend and I got to be the Engagement Elves. For those of you who don’t know, Engagement Elves are the people who scurry around behind the scenes to help ensure that the proposal comes off with utmost smoothness, and that the proposer gets maximum return on the “how did you do all of this?” amazement-factor.

At 9 pm the proposal supplies were dropped off by the proposer – supplies included votives, scented candles (in pink, red, and white), champagne (in a plastic trash bag of ice), champagne flutes, iPod, and digital camera. As Engagement Elves, it was our duty to use these supplies to create a romantic ambiance in an undergraduate common room. Now, you may be thinking that not even the most talented Engagement Elves could transform a stale-pizza-smelling, wood-and-stained-nubby-upholster-furniture-filled, TV-fixed-on- the-wall room into a space worthy of a asking a woman to spend the rest of your life with you, but allow me to explain. There was actually very little we had to do for this particular couple (aside from lighting those scented candles because all college common rooms really DO smell like stale pizza). The couple both attended this undergraduate institution and shared their first kiss in the very 8th floor common room we were charged with embellishing. Cute, right?

At 10 pm we arrived at the dorm building. There, our greatest challenge was getting by the strict work-study student manning the front desk. Of course, we were lacking the proper student-ID cards, but fortunately, the little diamond bells we were wearing on our toes clued him into our mission. With a little persuasion, he let us through. As Engagement Elves, we also did our duty and got him to agreed to let the blindfolded girl and the nervous-looking boy who we expected to arrive in 20 minutes in without a hassle.
Fortunately, the room was empty when we arrived. We got busy cleaning up, and arranging candles.

At 10:30, the couple arrived. We hid by the recycle bins and watched them walk by, she with her blindfold and arms stretched out in front of her, he with an arm confidently wrapped around her waist, guiding her. He flashed us a big grin as they passed, and I think I actually gave him a double thumbs up (though giddy as I was, I’m not sure).

When the door to the common room opened just a few minutes later, we Engagement Elves were called in to help the newly engaged couple celebrate. Their happiness and excitement was overwhelming, and the smile I wore for the rest of the evening made my cheeks hurt.