Romantic Suitors take chance to pop the question 50 [people] Most of the time,proposals began with an elegant restaurant.Fancy plates would go to and from the table at a much slower pace than the heart beat of the young man attempting to articulate one question. Finally, dessert would bring the sparkling rock that varied in style and size according to each wallet. Some Harding students chose this story, but the overseas programs gave students the opportunity to get engaged in some of the most romantic cities in the world, such as Florence and Paris. Senior Tara Knight and junior Anna Barker were two of the lucky ones to experience engagement European-style over the summer of 2007. On July 23, Florence served as the backdrop for Knight and senior Craig Quattlebaum’s perfect Italian proposal.The couple was engaged in Italian tradition on Knight’s birthday.They spent the evening in the city, and, as the sun went down on the Ponte Vecchio bridge, an Italian girl gave Knight a bouquet of sunflowers. For the location of the proposal, Quattlebaum chose a spot on an ancient bridge right under a church. “This was really special to me because it symbolizes God’s place in our relationship,” Knight said. According to the couple, it was Italian tradition for the man to buy a lock to place on the Ponte Vecchio and throw the key in the Arno River. Knight tossed the key into the Arno which “symbolizes that the relationship is now sealed for good.” For Barker, July 7 in Paris was the perfect engagement spot. The proposal was in the form of a scrapbook scavenger hunt that she and her long-distance boyfriend Brian D’Herde would embark on. Each page had a picture and description of seven of the most romantic places in Paris which they would see together. “I could only turn the page [once] we had been there,” Barker said. At the end of the evening, D’Herde arranged dinner at a small quiet restaurant. Between water fountains and the Eiffel Tower, D’Herde got down on one knee and in French said, “I love you. I adore you. Will you marry me?” After a translation to English, Barker accepted, and the two year relationship moved on to become an engagement. Many couples became engaged at Harding, but the university campus that some students firmly believed was constructed to imitate the perfect setting for a proposal, was not the only place for romantic engagements. If the white swings and benches were not a part of a young couple’s idea of the perfect scenery for an engagement, a semester overseas could have been helpful.Whether it was the Ponte Vecchio or the Eiffel Tower, these stories proved that anyone could have their perfect proposal. [Karol Figueroa] Getaway
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