Do you do advent calendars? Washington D.C.-based couple Patrick (left) and Mark are fans of the Bonne Maman one, which has 24 days of different jams. But one morning, the calendar revealed something surprising…

Joanna: How did you discover the jam calendar?
Patrick: In 2021, a friend of mine was doing it and posting her reviews every day. I became obsessed and watched all her videos. The following year, I bought the calendar, and on December 1, 2022, I was like, ‘Okay, Mark, we’re doing this calendar and we’re going to rate it!’ He was like, ‘Wait, we’re reviewing it every day on your Instagram Story? This is so goofy!’

Did you both review the jams?
Patrick: Yes, but on day three, Mark wasn’t very engaged with the calendar. At one point, he was walking away, and I sort of scolded, ‘Are we engaged, Mark?’ And he joked, ‘We are not yet engaged.’ Then all these people on Instagram were asking, wait, are you engaged? And I was thinking, we should be.

What was the next step?
Patrick: We’re both from the Midwest, and we were visiting my parents in Chicago. That week, I asked my mom, should I propose? And she was like, OMG YES. That same day, we went to the mall and bought the ring.

I love a mom moment! Mark, did you have any suspicions?
Mark: That morning, I was on a work call, and it was supposed to take 30 mins but it was like 2.5 hours. I was walking around in my pajamas with my AirPods, and Patrick walked by in a turtleneck, all showered. I was like, wait, why is Patrick so dressed up? Then I realized, omg the stupid calendar. [laughs]

What was your proposal plan?
Patrick: My sisters, my parents, and I were all sitting at the kitchen table. I had put the ring box in the calendar door with the daily jam. We were like, this call is never going to end!

When Mark’s call finally finished, what happened?
Patrick: I propped up my phone to record the jam review. I was like, ‘It’s day 19, it’s a special day, we haven’t gotten a 10/10 yet, so hopefully we’ll get one today…’ Mark turned to look at me, and I pulled out the ring box.

How exciting!
Mark: I was so surprised! It was very Patrick.
Patrick: He said yes!

What was the jam that day?
Mark: It was really not very good.
Patrick: It was kind of a bummer. Orange cinnamon spice.

For their wedding place settings, Patrick and Mark used mini jams with people’s names on them.

How sweet is that? What other proposal stories have you liked?

P.S. More proposals, including a bakery, a bookstore and a beach.

(Wedding photos by Sam Hurd Photography.)