Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, (Orlando, FL) there was a boy and a girl who met in a castle… no, really, they met in a castle. It was a normal day at Universal Studios for Chris as he went into work in December of 2009. Walking into the break room of Dueling Dragons he saw a new person with a strange name on the board, and was a little apprehensive to work with a newbie. But when he walked around the corner, Shalisa came right up and started talking to him. He immediately had a crush.

Later that year as their friendship built, Shalisa walked into the control room of the roller coaster and as Chris and Shalisa were talking, Chris told her how he played the cello. So of course Shalisa jokingly ran and said, “Will you marry me?!? I love the cello!” to which Chris declined. As two years went by, Shalisa began to also develop feelings for Chris. But theirs lives were on two different paths, the timing wasn’t right…yet. In one quick week, everything changed. Chris and Shalisa sat down with each other in September of 2011 and finally fessed up. After many evenings spent at Halloween Horror Nights and a first date to The Cheesecake Factory, they spent a day at Disney World. Under the fireworks at Epcot, Chris told Shalisa how he was falling for her and wanted to start a real relationship. Shalisa of course felt the same way. Since then the two have been inseparable, building a life together and going on many adventures. No matter what life threw their way, their love for each other grew.

The Engagement

Four years later the two had moved across the country. It was December, 2015 and they were planning a trip to Europe for a friend’s wedding. Shalisa and all her gal pals thought Chris was going to (finally) pop the question while on their big European vacation. But Chris had everyone fooled! Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford Museum held a very special place in Shalisa’s heart. Her dad always loved going there and it was one of the first places that he took Chris when he came to Michigan. There is a Main Street there across from the white chapel that Shalisa’s mom and dad use to perform at for weddings back in the day. The couple had never been to the Christmas event that the Village puts on every year. So Chris being the planner that he is, set it all up, had written and memorized what he wanted to say, and purchased tickets to Holiday Nights for a surprise proposal. Now Shalisa being the impatient person that she is, fussed at Chris about how they have never been and ended up purchasing tickets herself. So just a few days before, Chris had to scramble to re-coordinate everything, just to make it that much more unexpected for Shalisa. On December 22, 2015, they walked into Greenfield village, and it was magical. As they made their way around, Chris kept running off which made Shalisa very annoyed and confused. They neared the corner of Main Street and the chapel, and stopped for a picture. Chris went to grab someone to take the photo and then up came Shalisa’s photographer friend and their old coworker. Shalisa was shocked and even more confused, still having NO idea what was about to happen. Chris then took her hands, got down on one knee and said: “Four years, two months and four days ago, you, Shalisa Goodman, made me the happiest person when you said yes under those fireworks. Since then, we have done so much together; we have experienced amazing highs and terrible lows, fantastic gains and difficult hardships. Through everything you have been by my side, and I would never want it any other way. Will you please make me the happiest person once again. Shalisa Rachel Goodman, will you marry me?” Shalisa kept asking, “Is this for real, are you serious?” Then she got down while crying and said “YES!” It was the most perfect proposal and was better than Shalisa could have ever imagined. To experience just a glimpse of that magical night, click the link below.