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Our Engagement Story

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 March 18, 2013

Our Engagement Night

It was a cool day on Monday, March 18th 2013 with not much sun in the sky and a dreary fog covering most of Los Angeles. Earlier that day Emrah had told Devran that he was concerned about his dad’s upcoming surgery and had kindly requested the two spend some alone time together that evening. Emrah suggested that they go to one of his favorite places, Griffith Park Observatory, to watch the sunset. Devran quickly agreed as she knew the severity of Emrah’s dad’s surgery and wanted to do anything she could to make him feel better.

Around 6pm that evening, Emrah picked Devran up and they drove to the observatory. The car ride was filled with conversation about work, life and well mostly about how Emrah had to pee. (If you know LA, you know we were sitting in a decent amount of traffic). When they arrived at the observatory, Emrah reached for his jacket containing what Devran couldn’t have imagined; the surprise of her life. As they approached the observatory, they sadly learned that it was closed… which is only on Mondays. Devran laughed at Emrah’s forgetfulness to check the schedule, but the two were still able to walk around the observatory regardless. As they continued to walk around the building, Emrah suggested that it would be best to come back once the sun went down fully so they could see the city lights. He also mentioned that having some wine would also warm them up. At this point, Devran was a little confused as to why she had to come back to this closed observatory to stare at city lights when it was (to her) absolutely freezing outside and she was dressed for winter in Spring.

After another 30 minutes of driving down the hill to get wine – yes a $4.99 4-pack of Woodbridge Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Devran and Emrah had a sip, or many, in the car before walking back to the lookout point at the back of the observatory. In true Devran/Emrah fashion, they so slyly sipped on their mini bottles of wine while they took in the city lights as the sun began to disappear. After speaking about all the change that was going on in their lives, Emrah who can usually organically transition into uncomfortable topics, began to thank Devran. To Devran, the way Emrah began to speak made her a little wary of what was going to happen next. He thanked her for being so understanding and supportive during this transitional part of his life and told her that she was one of the most loving, caring and compassionate people he had ever met and that if he were ever to spend the rest of his life with someone it would be her. Devran stopped Emrah with a kiss, said thank you and laid her head on his chest as he continued to speak.

The next moment came as a blur and funny surprise as Emrah said, “To show you my appreciation for doing all these things, I wanted to give you this” and pulled out a ladybug broach. For months leading up to their engagement, Emrah had playfully joked with Devran that his non-traditional ways would lead him to purchasing an engagement broach for her rather than a ring. This was a joke that Devran wasn’t so amused about. She never knew if he was serious or joking. The moment Emrah handed Devran the ladybug broach (in Turkish culture, a ladybug is known for good luck), she began to weep with her hands over her face, as she knew what was coming next. Emrah’s next words were, “Well if you don’t like that, then you can have this instead.” And he opened a box with the most beautiful diamond ring inside, which of course, sobbing Devran failed to even see because of the stream of unstoppable tears. Emrah said, “Open your eyes, look at the ring.” He then placed it on Devran’s hand and for one moment she stopped crying, hugged him and said, “I guess now is the part where I’m supposed to say yes?”  Emrah jokingly replied, “Well you better or else I will throw you over the ledge.”

As they laughed and embraced, another surprise was around the corner: Emrah’s parents. The day before his father’s lung surgery, both of Emrah’s parents came to the observatory with a mini bottle of champagne and everyone hugged and toasted the engagement together. After attempting to take photos in the dark night with minimal light since the observatory was closed, they headed back to Devran’s condo only to be greeted with more surprises. Deniz had picked up Devran’s favorite Italian food from Café Med and had chilled a couple of bottles of champagne. As Devran walked in the door, one of her best friends from college, Ashley Verdon, popped out from the kitchen for a full embrace, congratulations and of course more tears as Deniz had told her earlier in the day about the proposal since Devran canceled plans with Ashley that evening.

After everyone was at the condo, Devran and Emrah skyped with Devran’s parents in Cyprus at 7am their time. There was laughter and smiles as Devran showed them the ring and the two explained the progression of the night’s events.

The night the two got engaged was by no means perfect, but it was well representative of the life they have shared thus far. As usual, Devran and Emrah made imperfection into perfection by concentrating on what mattered most and just by being together and in love. All the pieces fell into place.

Thank you to all who kept the engagement a surprise and we can’t wait to party with you at our wedding in 2014!