An iKonnect Love Story
We have a special story in honor of Israel’s Valentine's Day - Tu B’Av! The beautiful proposal story of iKonnect’s very own, Yonina and her husband Yoni.
Yoni
There was absolutely no doubt in mind where the proposal would take place, Mahktesh Ramon. To be able to propose on the edge of a cliff, with the sun slowly setting into a backdrop of picturesque mountains... and, best of all, in a place which was sentimental to us? You can't beat that.
The only question was: how can I possibly make this a surprise? It's a two-hour drive to a special place; she's bound to catch on.
So I came up with a plan. I would give her an erroneous date for the proposal: Friday, July 27th, 2018. Six months since the day we started dating, and it happened to be Tu B'av, the Jewish equivalent to Valentine's Day.
Yonina
He told me, "so I figured that it's better that you just know when it's going to happen, but what will happen is for me to know and for you to find out." Then he proposed that we take the day before, Thursday, off as well, and enjoy a grand date to celebrate our final day of being single.
I really fell for it - we even planned the date together! Desert archery at Chetz Bsheket (Silent Arrow), horseback riding at the Alpaca Farm and he even told me to bring some nice clothes to change into, for dinner at a nice restaurant nearby.
Yoni
There is indeed a restaurant in the area, but I had no intention of going there... the plan was for my wonderful brother to drive down from Be'er Sheva to set up the red carpet and roses, and I'd try to bide my time until he'd have everything ready.
Everything worked out perfectly in the end, even though I was so nervous throughout the day that something would get messed up. The date was super enjoyable, and only when we finally reached the proposal site was the surprise revealed.
Yonina
I remember feeling a bit disappointed later during the day that we came all the way to where we first met on a camping trip and he was only going to propose the next day, somewhere else. He really surprised me; I fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
It was beautiful and touching. I can still see myself walking up the stone steps to the edge of Makhtesh Ramon, reaching the top and seeing a golden sun setting, red carpet, and petals spread out before me.
He got down on one knee (of course) and he asked me, "Yonina, will you marry me"? Embarrassingly enough, the first thing that came out was "duh". He still makes fun of me for that...
In the end, he wasn't kidding about proposing on Tu B'av, though: the Jewish calendar day starts at sunset!
