We received too many cool tales to share all at once. So
here’s the final round of stories about engagements at French Lick Resort. If
you missed it, check out the first installment. And if you’re still scrambling
for Valentine’s Day plans for next week (guys, we’re talkin’ to you), French
Lick resort has you covered with dinner or overnight packages.
Onward to the engagement stories, the first of which
deserves a little extra love for being so industrious:
Mikala & Adam May
How’s it possible to pull off a surprise engagement for your
fiancée who’s expecting a proposal? Allow Adam May to lay out a blueprint.
Thanks to a crash course in guitar plus a little assistance
from hotel staff, Adam orchestrated an engagement of fairytale proportion in
the spring of 2016. He and Mikala had planned a family dinner together at
French Lick Springs Hotel, and given that the two had been dating for six
years, Mikala anticipated an engagement on the horizon. Maybe during dinner at
1875: The Steakhouse, one of their favorite restaurants and where they were
headed to eat later in the day.
Adam had a twist up his sleeve.
They first stopped at West Baden Springs Hotel to wander for
a bit and relax in the atrium. Adam suggested they walk around and look at
things. They came up on a small barricaded area that hotel staff had set up for
Adam in advance.
“This little blocked-off area that had a guitar sitting
there. And I was like, ‘Adam, I don’t think we should be in this area, this
looks like it’s blocked off for something.’”
No, come in here,
let’s look, he insisted.
I don’t want to,
she hesitated.
“He sat down in this blocked-off area and he grabbed the
guitar, and I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ because up until this point, I
did not know he played the guitar. He’s never been musically inclined. He can
sing, but he never played an instrument before this. He picked it up and
started playing my favorite song, ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ by Elvis. I sat
down and listened, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, so this is it.’ So he sang and
played that and then proposed.”
Turns out, Adam had taught himself to play guitar thanks to
a book and YouTube videos. Pretty remarkable, especially considering he’d only
been playing for about three months and couldn’t practice whenever Mikala was
around.
And whenever you create a spectacle like that, you’d better
be able to hit the right notes.
“Yeah, he was good,” Mikala assured. “He had planned on
playing a different song, and it was about two days before it was a last-second
decision, he decided to play the Elvis song, which I’m so glad he did because
that was my favorite, and that ended up being our first dance at our wedding.”
The Elvis version of the song, that is. The Adam version of
the song is proof that these theatrical, serenading proposals happen in real
life and not just the movies.
“We definitely were (creating attention), considering he was
singing and playing the guitar, and it was a Friday night. People started
gathering around, and when he finished, people started clapping,” Mikala said. “We
were definitely gathering attention. But I wasn’t embarrassed, because I was
just really happy and it was just really neat to be a part of.”
April & Chad Frazier
“Eighteen years ago in September, my husband proposed to me in the gardens at French Lick! He’s been coming to French Lick since he was a child and it
was our first vacation together as a couple. For the proposal, he went into the
old Derby Bar and had Tomi the bartender make him a strawberry daiquiri. He
placed the ring in the whipped cream and proposed to me on one of the little
bridges by the gazebo. We still go get a drink and talk to Tomi when we come to
the hotel as it’s still our favorite getaway!”
Dana & Bill File
“My husband proposed to me on the grounds of West Baden Springs
Hotel on October 9, 2015. It was a complete surprise. This was our first time
visiting and fell in love with the charm and beauty of the area! We have been
back six times since, and it always remains a special place in our heart
because that is where we took the next step in our relationship! We got married
on April 27, 2016. Thank you for creating such a beautiful backdrop for such a
beautiful moment.”
Brooke & Garrett Brower
“We got engaged March of 2015 at West Baden! Thanks to a
staff member for taking pictures and capturing our moment.”
Lindsey & Ryan Waldrop
“We got engaged at French Lick Resort in March of 2014 after
spending many weekends there falling in love. We spent a weekend at French
Lick Resort with our parents the weekend before we got married.We also spent the holidays at French Lick Resort right before our baby girl was born in March of 2016.”
Anthony & Daniel
“My husband proposed to me at West Baden on Valentine’s
weekend in 2016. I had never heard of the West Baden or French Lick hotels
before, and he planned a whole surprise weekend getaway for the two of us. It
started by watching the PBS documentary on West Baden. When we arrived, we
explored the grounds, went bowling at Pluto’s Alley, had lunch at the Power
Plant, went horseback riding in the snow and had dinner at Sinclair’s. I had a
feeling he was going to propose at dinner, but he didn’t. Instead he arranged
with Sarah Stivers, who was singing under the atrium after dinner, to sing Nat
King Cole’s “Love” while he proposed in front of the fireplace. The surprises
didn’t end there. After I said yes, his son from a previous marriage came out
and gave me a ring to give his dad as a sign he wanted me in his life forever,
too. After all that and a little champagne, we headed over to the casino for a
little fun. The next day we had the Valentine’s Day brunch before heading back
home. When we arrived he had a surprise engagement party planned with all our
closest friends. We got married later that year on December 17, 2016, and have
never been happier. We consider West Baden our home away from home and we go as
often as we can. In fact, we’re even planning on coming this weekend for tea!
The place will always have a very special place in our hearts and minds.”
Judith & Kerry Dunlap
“Although I didn’t get engaged at West Baden Springs Hotel,
does it count I fell in love at the dome? Anyway, I always love to share how my
hubby and I met. Our love began at Northwood Institute of Indiana. I had fallen
in love with the dome the moment I first walked into the atrium at my first
prom in 1974. The cafeteria (now Sinclair’s Restaurant) had been turned into a
romantic setting where we dined by candlelight. The veranda and the sunken
gardens added to the beauty of the location but the icing on the cake was the
breathtaking atrium with the golden mushroom hanging from the ceiling of the
dome. I didn't fall in love with my date that night but I fell in love with the
dome.
My best friend started attending Northwood Institute (housed
in what is now West Baden Springs Hotel) in August of 1976. I was 17 and having
a standoff with my parents about going to college. They wanted me to commute
from home to New Albany or Louisville; I wanted to live on campus. One weekend
I went to the Northwood Institute campus to stay with my best friend. As we
chilled on the second-floor landing (above the sunken gardens entrance) I look
across the atrium to see a guy walking all alone. I tell my best friend that he’s
cute. Later, he and another student asked us to ride up to third cabin with
them, which was quite a bumpy ride in his Volkswagen Bug on the dirt road. When
we reach the summit, the cute guy takes me by the hand into the woods. I was
nervous, but he was a complete gentleman. After returning to the dome I ask my
friend, ‘What was this guy’s name?’ She said she didn’t know — at that point I
start flipping out knowing we’d gone up there with complete strangers! The guy
and I start dating and I decide college life wasn't such a bad idea, and so I promptly
enrolled for the winter term. After 10 months my boyfriend proposed and I
accepted. But come fall term we broke up. After graduating, he moved to
Clarksville from Kokomo to win me back. It worked, and in October we will celebrate
our 40th anniversary.”