Photo courtesy Michael Fogelstrom
Heather Cowan and Michael Fogelstrom after he ran her through an elaborate scheme before proposing.
Two Morgan Hill natives get engaged Thanksgiving weekend
Published in the December 25, 2013-January 7, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
When Michael Fogelstrom decided to propose to his girlfriend Heather Cowan, he wanted the moment leading to matrimony to be far more than the cliché bending down on a knee, taking her hand and giving her a diamond ring. With the help of the staff at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Laguna Niguel Nov. 29, Fogelstrom created a suspenseful maze of clues through the resort hotel leading Cowan to his door and the proposal moment.
The two life-long Morgan Hill residents first met at Cowan’s sister’s Halloween birthday party when she was 3 years old and Fogelstrom was 6 years old. They grew up three blocks from each other.
Last month, the couple spent Thanksgiving with Fogelstrom’s family in San Diego. The next day, they drove to Newport Beach to do some Black Friday shopping.
“After spending a few hours at the mall and waiting out the rainy weather, we decided to watch the sun set from the beach,” Fogelstrom said. “The rain had just passed and the lingering clouds were a perfect backdrop for the sunset. I drove us down Highway 1 along the coast and Heather kept a lookout for a good vista point.”
Cowan assumed they would enjoy the sunset from the comfort of her heated Volkswagen Eos, but her boyfriend had other plans. He kept driving toward Laguna Niguel and when Ritz Carlton Drive came into view on his cellphone GPS, he pointed out the “lucky find” to Cowan.
“From prior experiences in the Bay Area, we knew the Ritz Carlton would have fire pits and sweeping views of the ocean, so this seemed like a more luxurious locale than Heather’s VW to take in the sunset,” he said.
Once at the hotel, staff directed the two to the outdoor bar area and the couple settled by the warmth of the beach-side fire pits. After ordering a drink, Fogelstrom excused himself to go the restroom. Shortly after, their server approached Cowan with a gift-wrapped box. Upon opening the present, Cowan discovered a piece of paper with a set of rules and a plush Eeyore doll from Winnie the Poo. An envelope was pinned to the donkey’s rear end.
“This was a throwback to meeting Heather during a round of Pin the Tail on the Donkey at her older sister’s — and my first best friend — seventh birthday party. The envelope was embossed with a golden ‘1’ and contained a card printed with the first verse of a poem that told the story of a couple, alluding to us without direct references. Underneath the first verse was a hint that asked Heather to ‘head to where a girl might get extra dolled up for her big date.’”
After fruitlessly checking the bathroom for another clue, Cowan headed to the resort spa and was rewarded with a Barbie doll in a blue dress holding envelope No. 2. This contained the second verse of their story, noting all the cooking and baking Fogelstrom used to woo Cowan, and a hint directing her to the main hotel restaurant.
Upon arriving at the restaurant near the hotel lobby, Cowan spotted a chocolate chip cookie and envelope No. 3 on a nearby tabletop. This envelope contained a verse about finally coming together as a couple and all the joyous occasions in the first years of their relationship. The hint directed Cowan to a place where she could “toast this romance.”
She immediately headed to the hotel bar and discovered there a flute of champagne with envelope No. 4. This contained a verse alluding to the hardships the two faced together in their relationship and hinted that Cowan should head to where things “ebb and flow like the ups and downs of life.”
“Heather headed out of the resort and down toward the beach,” Fogelstrom said. “Along the way she was offered a ride on a golf cart by the resort’s beach valet. When Heather arrived at the beach, she expected to find me kneeling on one knee, but instead found a picnic basket full of s’mores supplies, a throwback to the many beach bonfires we shared.”
And, of course, she found at that location envelope No. 5. The verse on the card inside told of the couple’s triumph over hardships and making room in their life for Dakota, their chocolate Labrador. There was also a hint for Cowan to head to where one might “check in for extra room.”
Upon arriving at the resort’s front desk, Cowan saw on the counter a literally chocolate chocolate Lab with a room key resting next to it. Staff then ushered Cowan to a hotel suite where she found envelope No. 6 taped to the door. This last verse told her she had the ability to continue the story with one little word, but it stopped short of one line of the complete verse.
When Cowan used her room key to open the door, she discovered her boyfriend kneeling with ring in hand while he spoke the last line of the poem: “Will you marry me?”
Fogelstrom planned the proposal moment to occur just in time to see the sunset on the ocean from their hotel suite. Of course, Cowan’s answer was yes.
FUN FACTS ON PROPOSAL
• Michael dreamed up this proposal one week before it happened and had four days to plan and ship items to the resort before heading to San Diego.
• Michael timed the proposal so Heather would arrive at the room just in time for sunset
• Michael had a team of hotel staff helping to coordinate the proposal. Many had earpieces and radios. They used secret meeting points (in the mens restroom), stairwells, and radio communication to prevent Heather from seeing Michael along her way.
