A Swedish man planned the sweetest proposal for the love of his life involving a very important person: his girlfriend’s beloved grandma. His special proposal gave both women the surprise of their lives.
Published fiction writer Emma Noyes of Chicago, Illinois, met credit analyst Pontus Gitselov of Växjö, Sweden, on a dating app in December 2021, when they were both living in Los Angeles.
“He messaged me first and I quickly asked him when we were going to Sweden,” Noyes, 27, told The Epoch Times. “It was a joke at the time, of course, but when I actually ended up moving to Sweden with him we laughed about that a lot.”
The couple’s first date was at Smoky Hollow Coffee Roasters in El Segundo, California. As Gitselov, also 27, pulled over and got out of his car, Noyes watched her future husband strolling toward her and was struck by how handsome he was. Their four-hour date went by in the blink of an eye.
“We talked and talked and talked,” Noyes said. “We covered everything: our families, our dreams, what it was like for him to grow up in Sweden. Neither of us looked at our phones once. ... It was like I'd time traveled.”
For the next couple of dates, they hiked, went bowling, and met at a friend’s house in Hermosa Beach.
Weeks later, at the book launch for Noyes’ first novel, “The Sunken City,” Gitselov referred to Noyes as his girlfriend and she knew she'd found the one. The couple spent time together in Sweden and when they returned to Chicago the Noyes family welcomed Gitselov with open arms, in particular Noyes’ grandmother, 90-year-old former senator Virginia Blankenbaker.
Gitselov, who never had the chance to meet his grandparents said: “I met Emma’s grandmother for the first time when we went to visit her in Indiana. She is a very charismatic person that you absolutely love being around. She has a very big heart and is one of the kindest human beings I have ever met.”
Blankenbaker has also been really fond of Gitselov. “Gramsie is just as in love with Pontus as I am,” Noyes said. “She told us to get married the day she met him.”
When Gitselov knew that he wanted to propose to Noyes, he knew he had to find a way to incorporate her grandmother.
“I also knew that she can’t keep a secret, so I decided not to tell her anything!” he said.
During a weekend trip to Dallas, Texas, with the Noyes family, which included a Blankenbaker’s birthday, Gitselov decided the time was right to pop the question. He had prepared a poem for Blankenbaker that he planned to read while Noyes filmed them on the grounds of their beautiful hotel. Little did either woman know, the poem wasn’t the only thing Gitselov had prepared.
“While holding Gramsie’s hands, I expressed my gratitude to her,” Gitselov said. “I then switched focus to Emma while she was recording and told her how much I love her, and then I proposed to her.”
“I could not hear a clear ‘Yes,’” he said. “Instead, I just saw her running and throwing herself in my arms. I was a bit worried there for a millisecond but then I saw her smile and tears and knew that it was a non-verbal yes! As all of this unfolded, I couldn’t help but feel really lucky that I was able to keep this a surprise.”
Noyes was “stunned” as she had no idea this was coming.
“But when I ran over to him and hugged him and started to cry, I told him of course I would marry him ... There was this sense of, ‘Oh, of course, we’re getting married!’”
Noyes explained that her grandmother is 90 years old and looks healthier than most people do at the age of 40, however, both she and her fiance know that the time with her is limited. Thus, Gitselov wanted to include her in the special proposal so he could create as many memories as possible with her.
The couple is planning their nuptials for July 2024 and hopes to have a small ceremony at Noyes’s family’s summer home with Gitselov’s family flying in from Sweden. Noyes said the only difficulties that they have encountered in their relationship have been with the visas. However, Noyes said all international relationships encounter “bureaucracy and waiting.”
She also adds that their different cultural backgrounds have never been a problem, only a source of amusement.
“There is absolutely no chance I can choose just one thing I love the most about Pontus,” she said. “He’s my best friend, we see the world so similarly. ... I have so much fun with him. But beyond that, I’m a pretty emotional and anxious person. I’ve always worried that would be a problem in my relationships, but Pontus couldn’t be a better partner. He steadies me, supports me, encourages me, calms me down. I can be completely myself around him. I feel so lucky that we met.”
Likewise, Gitselov cannot pinpoint just one thing he loves most about his wife-to-be.
