CJ Cleveland had the girl, had the ring, had the gumption.
Only thing he was missing was the plan.
So when CJ found the time was right to pop the question to
his girlfriend Molly Harber, he reached out for a little assistance in pulling
of his engagement. We have done this
a time or two, after all.
French Lick Resort has been the site of scores of engagements
over the years. The whole process can be a little overwhelming when you think
about all the logistics required for everything to unfold just right. But CJ
discovered what many before him have also found — help is out there, and all
you’ve got to do is ask.
Back in March, CJ got on frenchlick.com and submitted a
general question form explaining what he was trying to do. Marsha Tellstrom of
the concierge staff got back with CJ, which began a four-month process of swapping
emails and hatching a plan for when CJ and Molly recently visited here the last
weekend of July.
The two of them both graduated from Butler University,
though in picking a location for the proposal to go down, CJ thought proposing
at their alma mater might be a little too
classic or predictable. Plus, he needed somewhere that would maintain the element
of surprise, as “we have been dating for seven years so I knew it was coming at
some point,” Molly jokes.
So CJ got to thinking a little outside the box. He and Molly
had been to French Lick Resort for the first time last Christmas, and they had
talked about returning once it was warmer to get out and see more of the
resort. And that aligned perfectly with what CJ had in mind when it came to the
feel and location to get engaged.
“I was looking for something that was kind of unique and
special but still manageable; you don’t have to fly somewhere. You don’t really
feel like you’re in Indiana when you’re there,” says CJ. “It’s kind of like a
cool getaway and unique place.”
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| West Baden Springs Hotel concierge Marsha Tellstrom (right) was the one who worked with CJ for months to arrange every last detail of his surprise engagement. |
And when Marsha got back to him with a couple scenarios about how specifically to execute the engagement? Even better.
“Because that takes off some pressure, how she was able to
organize everything,” he says. “She had a lot more ideas than what I was expecting.
That was actually really nice, because I didn’t really have much of a plan
besides what she suggested.”
The tricky factor behind any engagement is documenting the
whole thing. That’s where Marsha enlists the assistance of her husband Jan, who
does professional photography on the side. We won’t spoil the exact gameplan
they used to surprise Molly — since Marsha is an undercover engagement agent of
sorts who’s helped several couples do this over the years — but let’s just say
everything unfolded precisely as planned until culminating in this moment in
the West Baden Springs Hotel formal gardens:
The tough part over with the huge question answered (Molly said “yes,” of course), but that was just Phase 1 with more pre-arranged special touches for the two. Including dinner at 1875: The Steakhouse topped off with two complimentary chocolate-covered strawberries and another piece of chocolate with a message congratulating them on the engagement.
“Obviously the photography was a surprise and having all
that on camera which will be so nice to have,” Molly says, “but then we went to
dinner and then there were flowers and Champagne, which was nice. We went back
to the room and there were more flowers in there. It was like the surprises
just kept coming.”
“Another one of Marsha’s ideas was for me to send some old
photos of the two of us and she’d blow them up and laminate them,” adds CJ. “She
did that and had the photos set up in the room after dinner, so that was another
surprise.”
Marsha even ran through backup plans with CJ in case it stormed
and they couldn’t be out in the gardens. But fortunately the rain held off long
enough to pull off the plan which was four months in the making — and originated
from an email simply asking for an assist in crafting a memorable moment.
“He definitely surprised me,” Molly says with a laugh.