Our wedding blogger Sunny tells how she got engaged at Sandals Emerald Bay and shares her top tips for proposing on vacation!

Sunny here! I’m so excited to share this post with you all as its subject is very near and dear to my heart. It never occurred to me while I write about lovely proposals at Sandals Resorts all the time, that one day I would blog about my own! During our vacation, my loving boyfriend became my loving fiancé when he popped the question in grand style during an incredibly romantic and surprise candlelight dinner at Sandals Emerald Bay.  I was so touched by how much work he put into arranging this proposal that I decided to include some of his secrets for pulling off the perfect proposal while on vacation. You can find those tips at the end of this post.

Warning: major cheesy romantic moments ahead!

My Proposal Story

I’ll set the scene for you (I’m a totally visual person, btw); it was a clear, full moon that night, a hidden island gazebo decorate with delicate sand-colored curtains and chic lounge chars, a  beautifully set table bathed in soft candlelight and tropical flowers to match my dress (which my sweet fiancé planned in advance), a menu designed exclusively for us, two bottles of Greg Norman Estates wine paired from the Manager’s Wine List, and the most perfect island breeze ever. When asked by a passer-by what we were celebrating, my then-boyfriend answered, “We’re celebrating just being here in a perfect moment.” It was all just so perfect.

After our first course the entertainment for the night, an amazing pianist and vocal impressionist, began his set in the distance. We ate, drank and reminisced about the first time we met listening to a cover of “What a wonderful world” by Louis Armstrong under a flawless sky. I  must add that the candlelight dinner was white glove service with a private butler and our butler Chris was fantastic! There was also a photographer from SnapShots photography who came and took pictures of us (to have this moment forever) and in hind-sight I don’t know how I didn’t pick up on what was about to happen. Maybe it was the wine.

After dessert (chocolate lava cake, yum!) the live entertainment stopped suddenly and a saxophonist who had performed a few days ago walked under the gazebo and personally serenaded us. I had remarked out loud when we first heard him that I thought he was amazing so unbeknownst to me my incredibly sweet boyfriend arranged for him to play two of my favorite songs just for us.

I was so hypnotized and lost in the music, I completely missed when my boyfriend got up from the table and walked around to my side. When I finally looked over to find him, he was in front of me down on one knee. I completely lost it. Honestly, I barely remember what he said when he asked me to marry him but I remember the earnest look in his eyes and my astonishment at that ring (it was exquisite!). To make the night even better, two of my best friends had flown in for the night to surprise me and celebrate with us.

The live entertainment started up again and played My Girl as a pre-planned, congratulatory song to us as I tried to pull myself together long enough to hug everyone – I was a complete mess! It was hands down the most memorable and exciting life of my night. To top it all off, when we got back to our room our butler had decorated it with congratulatory notes and balloons, champagne and flowers, a rose petal bubble bath and the most exquisite towel swans I had ever seen!

It wasn’t until I began to come down off my newly-engaged high that I thought to ask my new fiancé how he managed to pull that engagement off on another island, away from home. His secret weapon? Pre-planning, tons of phone calls and the amazing staff at Sandals Emerald Bay. He shared some of his secrets with me and now I’m going to share these tips for pulling off an epic proposal while on vacation with bonus Sandals Wedding Insider tips for getting engaged at Sandals Resorts! You can read these 5 tips for proposing on vacation here.

Did you get engaged at Sandals Resorts or Beaches Resorts? We’d love to hear your proposal story! Email us at weddingmoons@uvltd.com with a photo (or two or three or four) and tell us about your engagement and you could find your story featured on our wedding blog! You can also share your engagement photos with us on Twitter or Instagram using #ISaidYesAtSandals for a feature.