Engagement

How long have you been together? When did you meet?

It was the night of October 29, 2004. My friend and I were going out in Providence like virtually any other Friday. We were still riding the high of the Red Sox World Series victory and finding the woman I would marry was one of the last things on my mind. We ran into a few of his co-workers who were out celebrating one of their peer's birthdays.

The birthday girl was Alison Laurelli.

She was six feet tall, drop dead gorgeous, and catching the attention of every man in the room. I introduced myself and she could not have been more uninterested. All I received was a handshake and she quickly turned away, flipping her hair in my face. It was clearly not a love at first sight situation.

I needed another shot with this woman.

How did you meet?

I had wanted to go on a real vacation with Alison for a few years, but with our hectic work schedules and lack of discretionary income it just wasn't feasible to do anything more than a weekend getaway.

Then one day in March I was working in my office, listening to a local radio station and I heard about a contest that day at the Outdoor skating center in Kennedy Plaza. The DJ said that if anyone was to go down to the rink and skate a few laps in shorts, they would be entered to win a vacation. Please keep in mind that this was mid-March in Rhode Island.

There was snow on the ground and a blistering wind chill. I called Alison and told her of my plan to win us a vacation. She thought I was mad, but agreed to meet me there after work to watch me make a fool of myself. I laced up my skates and tore off my windpants, the smell of victory was in the air. My legs were a bit more wobbly than in the past, perhaps the five years since the skates had been put to use had something to do with it. After a couple of frozen trips around the ice I went back to the bench where Alison was waiting.

It was then I was told I would have to compete for the vacation. I was chosen to race against another loyal listener for the trip. I liked my odds at 50/50. This wasn't a normal race around the ice. I had to push a radio station intern on a Cardi's lounge chair across the rink and hit a cone before my worthy and equally insane adversary. The whistle blew and from there all I remember is a blur of ice, hustle, and Corinthian leather. Victory was mine and so was the trip! I asked Alison to marry me on May 30th of this year in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

How did you get engaged?

At the end of March I picked up the ring I wanted to use to propose to Alison.

I knew I wanted to pop the question on vacation so I had some waiting to do. The ring stayed in the back of my sock drawer, an area I knew her eyes would not stray, for two months before our trip. About a month prior to our departure I realized there was an issue. How was I supposed to get the ring to the Dominican Republic undetected? You see, Alison has a bit of a chapstick fetish and rarely has pockets to hold them, so they end up in my pockets which she accesses freely. So I couldn't just put it in my pocket and hold it all day. I have lost suitcases in the past so I didn't want to put it in there and pray. My carry on would have more than a few hands on it through the journey so that wasn't a safe option, neither was shipping.

I needed a way to keep the ring close, without having her be able to find it.

That's when it hit me.

I would sew the ring into the most personal thing I would have with me, the front of my underwear!

I brought the idea to my mother and a few minutes later I had one really expensive pair of boxer-briefs.

The ring made it through security and customs with no problem, though I did feel like a Red Sox infielder with the constant checking I was doing to make sure it was still riding safely. By the time we arrived at our destination in Punta Cana we had been traveling for twelve hours including layovers and such. I had planned on taking her down to the beach and popping the question at sunset. All I had been thinking about all day, all week, all month for that matter was how I was going to ask her. Once we got to the room, I could not take it any more. I ran into the bathroom and ripped the ring out of my underwear. I came out of the bathroom and asked her right there in the room. Lucky for me she said yes and we enjoyed the next few days in paradise.

Do you think the rings journey in my undergarments will hurt its appraisal value?

Why you should win?

Tell us why you should win a free wedding from NBC 10 and Federal Reserve. Remember, creativity counts!

The woman I love is the most kind, warm, hard working, altruistic, intelligent, funny and beautiful woman I have ever met.

She never seems to stop and always has a new project to work on. Alison always thinks of others first.

Just last week she structured a donation of 950 tickets to Foster Families of Rhode Island for the Halloween Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at McCoy Stadium.

Since I have known Alison, she has worked three jobs, sixty hour plus weeks just to make ends meet. She paid her own way through college and still has some hefty student loans to pay off. Even though we try hard, it is very difficult to save money from month to month.

My apartment is no place to start a family so last week we signed the purchase and sales contract for our first home. We close on November 15th and are extremely excited. However since we are buying the home, we can no longer afford to have a wedding next year. Even though I know Alison would be happy with whatever we could do, I think she deserves the very best.

Alison was raised by her single mother, who would love to help us but the last thing we want to see is her taking out a second mortgage so that we can spend one day lavishly.

I have been blessed with all of the women in my life and would love to show them an incredible wedding. The Federal Reserve is definitely the best and would be the perfect location to have our special day. It's classic charm combined with it's contemporary accents would be the ideal backdrop to have our friends and family celebrate our union. The idea that we would have the direction of professionals and the feedback of the Channel 10 viewers sounds excellent to us.

I think that we are the perfect couple to get married on your station. I am madly in love with Alison and hope that we have the opportunity to experience your Wedding Giveaway. I know that no matter what it will be a day that the two of us will always remember, but with your help it will be a day that none of our guests will ever forget. Thank you very much for taking the time to read our application. Be Well, Christopher Derham.

Funny Story

Tell us one of the funniest things that has ever happened to you as a couple?

When on vacation in the Caribbean, it is not uncommon to catch some sort of a stomach bug.

I was one of the fortunate recipients of a parasite.

For the last two days of our vacation I was in bed with cold sweats and such. Alison was the best nurse I could have asked for, staying in the room with me and watching an 80's movie marathon in Spanish (by the way, "Pretty in Pink" is a lot funnier in a foreign language).

My intestinal dilemma didn’t stop when we got home.

By the seventh day of my troubles Alison said it was time to go to the hospital. After five hours in the emergency room and a few I.V. bags full of god knows what, it still wasn’t better. The resident then came in and decided to inspect my plumbing for any issues. I will spare you the details, but my future bride had to see me in a very compromising situation with a surprisingly gentile physician, one week into our engagement and she didn’t flinch. She is definitely the one.