Snezhana and Anthony's Engagement Pictures

July 27th, 1997

---

These photographs were taken during our "official" engagement ceremony on 7/27/97. Our families met for the first time on this day and, thanks to the grace of God, they liked each other.

The engagement ceremony started with me asking Mr. Butenko for his permission to marry Snezhana. He didn't answer me with a swift reply, instead, he gave a brief speech on how well he and Ms. Butenko have loved and raised Snezhana and now it's up to me to love and care for her the same way. It was a very good and emotional speech. At the end of his speech, I asked him, "So, does this mean I can marry her?" He smiled and replied "YES."

I then turned to face Snezhana, presented the engagement ring, and proposed to her on one knee. This was the first time Snezhana had seen the final engagement ring. She was awed by the brilliance of the diamond ring and stood very still and showed a lot of excitement. I then made a public committment to love her and cherish her forever and asked her to marry me. She said "YES." I then slipped the engagement ring on her finger and hugged her.

My little cousin then came over and gave her a beautiful pair of diamond-ruby ear rings on my parent's behalf. Snezhana treasures these ear rings dearly. To my surprise, my mom gave a really nice speech about her first impression of Snezhana which touched everyone. It made Mr. and Mrs. Butenko very happy.

We all then drove to Fortune House where I arranged for a special banquet room for the occasion. We had a twelve course meal with an engagement cake at the end.

That's an overview of our engagement party. It was as wonderful as wonderful can be!

---

Me proposing on one knee.	My beautiful Snezhana.
Just us, the happy couple.	Our families.
It's us again.	The delicious fruit cake.