April 14, 2017, started as any other day for Brooke Sell. Any other date day. Her boyfriend, Brad Simon of 6 ½ years had planned a date day for the two of them. They were going glass blowing. Brad had a secret. He intended to ask Brooke to marry him.
Brooke and Brad met in high school, coincidentally. Their lockers were next to each other. The began talking and became best friends. The beginning of their sophmore year, Brad asked Brooke to go to homecoming. A pretty girl with an amazing dress and a handsome young man with flowers. Pictures to commemorate the event were taken at the falls in Chagrin. Brad knew how important this beautiful girl was to him and asked her to be his girlfriend.
The two best friends found their relationship growing and growing. They fell in love with one another. A giddy kind of love. The kind of love that makes you smile when someone enters the room. They make you laugh. They make you smile. Brad would plan surprise dates for Brooke, bring her flowers and make her feel like she was the only girl in the world. To him she was.
After high school, Brad went on to Bowling Green State University and Brooke stayed home to attend Kent State University. They missed each other. They had always been able to make each other laugh; to make each other comfortable. It was tough being 2 ½ hours away from each other after all this time they had spent together, always being there for each other, day after day. That first year, months would go by before they could see each other because of their school and work schedules. They tried to talk and stay in touch but often times only had a few minutes to spare.
Even though they were making their long distance relationship work, they began missing each other more and more, like never before. Brad came home to Brooke in 2016 to finish school at Kent State University. They were together again, a wonderful change for both of them. After Brad came home, he and Brooke started to really think about their future together and what they wanted. They began talking about marriage and even looked at rings. Brad had a plan and he intended to make their engagement amazing. Brooke would have to wait and be surprised. It is hard to surprise someone you are best friends with, someone who knows your thoughts and feelings. This was going to take time.
April 14, 2017 was the day. Brad told Brooke he had a surprise date planned for them. Brooke was not suspicious. Afterall, Brad had made a habit of doing things for Brooke and surprising her. When they arrived in Chagrin Falls, there were a few minutes to spare. Planned perfectly by Brad. He asked Brooke if she wanted to take a walk down to the falls, a popular place for proposals. The same place they had taken their first dance pictures. This was not a coincidence, but Brad's plan. They walked on to the deck and then down farther on to the rocks. They reminisced about their first homecoming about how nervous and excited they both were. Brooke had no idea what was about to happen. Brad, more sure than ever he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman before him, got down on one knee and asked Brooke to marry him. She said YES Brad's day included another surprise. He had hired a photographer to capture their moment. The photographer, hiding behind a tree was able to create a lasting memory in pictures. As Brad and Brooke were walking back up the deck they noticed a Northeast Ohio Rocks painted rock that said “Will You Marry Me?” It was a surprise for both of them.
