There are always two sides to every story. This love story is no different. In December of 2015, Danny Fast proposed to the love of his life, Karissa Alcox at a U-Haul Self-Storage, or “engagement unit” in Kitchener, ON.
Read below as Danny recalls the planning and anticipation that led to the event on his end and surprise and joy that Karissa received on hers:
His Story:
“Almost every single day I go to a U-haul storage unit on the corner of Victoria and Charles in downtown Kitchener, Ontario. When I’m there, I pick up painting supplies for an event I host called Paint Nite. It’s a very normal thing for Karissa to come help me load up on paint and canvases, and I knew taking her by complete surprise would be the best way to ask her to marry me.
For days I scrambled around like a madman trying to decorate the inside of a U-haul storage unit with all our memories. I had to do it in secrecy, only decorating while she was at work, and even asking for time off from Paint Nite to get everything just right. I realized that I only had 1 day to squeeze in the proposal before we left to see our families for Christmas. And when that day arrived, I asked her to help bring boxes in like usual. I told her we got a new storage unit and she asked why. Gulp, I hadn’t thought of that. “Because it’s cheaper,” I added on the fly. She thought nothing of it.
I led her to a unit on the second level that needed a flight of movable stairs to get to it. There was a giant window overlooking the street behind it too. Then I asked her to unlock the unit. She walked up the stairs and saw it was unlocked (“Oh no! Was it broken into?!”) but I told her to open it anyways. Inside were red curtains, a dark grey carpet, stringed lights, and mementos from our relationship hung up on the walls. When she looked back, I was down on one knee and that’s when I asked her to marry me. She said yes but I could tell she was overwhelmed. Heck, I was too. I could barely get the words out of my mouth. Then we hung out in the unit for a while eating fancy cheese, taking pictures, and looking over old memories.”
Danny Fast
Her Story:
“The best part of our engagement was that it was 100% a surprise – who expects to get engaged in a storage unit?
Danny is a paint instructor, and often visits his storage unit in Kitchener to gather supplies for his classes. I will regularly join him to help him carry things. So when he suggested that we pop-in to U-Haul after a lunch date. I said sure and grabbed a box.
When he lead me down a different pathway and explained that he got a new cheaper unit, I thought that made a lot of sense. When he asked me to climb up the stairs and open the unit I said sure! But when I opened the unit (and expected to see piles of boxes and paint) I saw red silk curtains, battery powered candle lights, a picnic basket filled with fancy cheese, and photos and letters from our relationship hung up everywhere. I turned around and he was at the bottom of the stairs on one knee, asking me to marry him. I was so surprised that I had to force myself to listen to his words and focus on the moment!
Danny knew that I would want a good story, and a great surprise, but he also knew I wouldn’t want a big public display.
After I said yes we climbed up into our “engagement unit,” reminisced over all the letters and pictures on the wall, and enjoyed a delicious fancy cheese picnic! It was the most perfect day and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Karissa Alcox
Their Story
Danny and Karissa were acquaintances since high school, but that’s not quite where their story began. Because they were in different grades, they had mutual friends but didn’t directly interact very much. When Karissa came back from college, she started working at a local cafe. She and Danny interacted online where he saw that she was hosting a board game night at the cafe. At this point, Danny had built up a bit of a crush on her after seeing her at a bar the week prior and their conversations online. He also happens to love board games, so how could he not go? After that, Danny started regularly visiting Karissa at the cafe. Danny and Karissa have been dating for over 2 ½ years now.
Danny works as a paint instructor and a freelance artist which is how he makes use of U-Haul’s Self-Storage. Almost everyday Danny visits the unit where he stores canvases and painting supplies. Because they visit the unit every day, transforming it from “self-storage” to the “engagement unit” was the perfect way to surprise Karissa. After the engagement, Karissa was so excited, she had to share the good news with all of social media. A month after Danny proposed, Karissa received her turn at running the @PeopleofCanada Twitter account which has a weekly rotating curation from any Canadian citizen. We found their story there and had to share it!
Karissa and Danny will be getting married in August in their home town, located near Niagara Falls. Although the couple lives in Kitchener now, they agreed that this lake side location would be more convenient for both of their families… and would also be beautiful!
Thanks to both Danny and Karissa for letting us share their incredible story. We wish you all the best in your lives together!
Do you have a #uhaulfamous story for us to share? Visit uhaulfamous.com for more information!
