Hello All! Sara here.
A lot of people have been asking lately how Riley proposed. And to be honest, I am simply thrilled to tell the story! It was perfect. However, our close family friends, and really my second set of parents, Von and Karen Larson were at the scene to film the actual proposal. Their son Taylor is serving a mission in Washington State and she wrote him to tell all about it. As much as I love telling the story, or hearing Riley tell it, I love what she wrote even more. So without further ado... The Proposal as told by Aunt Karen!
"I was cleaning the kitchen and thinking about our little Bear Lake house and wondering if Tanner Andresen had any ideas on what we could do to increase rentals when the phone rang. It was Shelly, and she asked if I could do a favor for her. She said that Riley was planning to propose to Sara at 8:30 that night, and wondered if I would lurk around the proposal site and video it. I jumped at the change to be a part (even a minor stalker part) of such an important event. Riley’s plan was to lead Sara to the garden roof of the Conference Center and when Sara looked out at the spectacular view of Salt Lake, she would see her family holding signs for Riley that said, “Sara, will you marry me?” When Sara turned to look at Riley, he would be on his knee with the ring. My job (well, the job that I delegated to Dad) was to catch this all on video.
My concern was that the roof would close, and the whole plan wouldn’t work out. I called Nana and she said yes, the roof closes at dusk but I was welcome to take her car and her parking pass so we could park under the Conference Center. Upon arrival at the CC, we discovered that Riley is a very persuasive young man, and had convinced the Saturday night director to give him access to the roof. All of the workers were excited and in on the plan. Tanner stopped by to make sure all was in place, and then Dad and I were escorted up to the roof to scope out where we’d be. The view was spectacular, and Dad got some great shots of the temple.
Sara and Riley arrived right on schedule after doing baptisms for the dead, and having the ring dropped off by a friend (it was getting sized and not ready when Riley went to pick it up). We were too far away to hear much of what was said, but it was pretty obvious Sara was excited to say yes. I did hear her say, "You stinker!" As they hugged, I was overwhelmed with the Spirit and had to shed a few tears. I was really caught off guard at how spiritual the moment was, but as I’ve thought about it, it makes absolute sense that the Spirit would be fully in attendance at a moment when an eternal family is created. I am so happy for them, and deeply grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who has created a plan for us to be together forever."
Who would have thought six years later we would be getting married?!
