Lindsay Kozikowski and Steve Welch
Engagement date: December 29, 2008
Wedding date: August 7, 2010
Steve and I have been dating nearly two years. We met while he was stationed in Key West with the Coast Guard, and I was on my way to a mission trip in Haiti. He left last April for a year-long XO assignment patrolling in the Persian Gulf, and it has been hard maintaining a relationship via e-mail and video chat, but we had the prospect of a 15-day R&R break. My father managed to get me a frequent flyer ticket to Sydney, leaving Christmas Day, and Steve was able to schedule his leave for the same time.
I was happy just to be with him and had no idea what Steve had planned. We spent a couple of days touring Sydney with a twilight climb of the harbor bridge scheduled for just before the New Year.
The climb was uneventful as we admired the shimmering sights around us including the beautiful Opera House. At the summit, however, Steve started acting strangely –- he pulled me away from the group, got down on one knee (well, as much as he could while being attached to the bridge) and asked me to marry him. I was surprised, shocked, and happy and said “yes!” He showed me the most beautiful ring, securely connected to an “engagement retention device” to keep it from falling to the roadway below. By now the tour group was cheering, I was sobbing and knew that I had the best guy in the world to spend my life with.