Cassie and Tom in Syracuse

It was four days before Christmas and I had just gotten home from taking finals at college and I was starting to feel like I was getting a cold. Tom and I had been having a rough day and I was taking a hot shower. I got out of the shower and put pajamas on when I started to hear music coming from the bedroom. I walked into the bedroom and it was dark with candles lit all around, our song was playing on the stereo. Tom was sitting in the bedroom with two glasses of wine in his hands. I sat down across from him and he told me that he was sorry that we had had a rough day and he just wanted to make me happy because he loved me. Then he told me that he really wanted to give me my Christmas present early so I had to get dressed quickly. I got dressed as Tom excitedly kept telling me to hurry. He took me by the hand and guided me outside and said we had to go for a walk. We began walking to the nearby park and the snow was falling lightly from the dark sky. We both kept talking about how beautiful it looked as it sparkled all the way down to the ground. I thought that Tom was bringing me to the park because I was upset that we didn't have a tree this year and the park always had one lit up on the gazebo. So as we got to the gazebo I couldn't help but think how sweet and romantic this was. We stood next to the tree facing each other, my hands in his. Tom looked into my eyes and told me how much he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. He then got down on one knee and I instantly started to cry. I kept saying, "Are you serious?" He asked me to marry him and pulled a small wooden box out of his pocket. I said yes and we kissed. We both cried as he slipped the ring on my finger and said, "Princess cut for my princess."

We got engaged at Hoopes Park in Auburn, NY. Our wedding will be in Niagara Falls, NY on June 16, 2007. We have been together since June 17, 2000.