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Popping the question at
Amy Grant's "House of Love"

Livewire's very own Andy Argyrakis
and Country singer Amy Grant are in on the special surprise
Posted: Nov. 28, 2008

Amy Grant

Andy pops the question

Story and live photo by Andy Argyrakis
Additional photos by Stan Sherwood

For those who find the love of their life, popping the question can often be one of the trickiest tasks within the relationship's history. I can vouch for this firsthand when it comes to my high school sweetheart/longtime girlfriend Katie Randall, who I knew I wanted to surprise, but wasn't quite sure how. But it just so happened that the idea struck me when I was on the phone with Amy Grant during an interview, partially because she's known for a lengthy list of love songs ("Baby, Baby," "Every Heartbeat," "House of Love," "Good For Me," "That's What Love Is For," etc.) but also due to the fact she's my girlfriend's all time favorite singer!

Just for some background, we've been acquainted with Amy and her country superstar hubby Vince Gill for the last several years through a series of interviews, photo shoots, music industry parties and award shows and have always admired their rock solid relationship, even amidst the stress of the celebrity spotlight. Nonetheless, my chat with Amy in this particular instance ended with an invitation for us to check out a future concert, which scored major points with Katie, if only because we'd be seeing a singer that's at the top of her list.

As the days ticked closer to the concert (which was Saturday, November 15, 2008 at The Mansion in Branson, MO just for the sake of specifics), I started diving into more of Amy's old school discs and became intrigued with the prospect of proposing at that very show. Being from Chicago, the road trip elements of this concert would distract any suspicions, so off I went to inquire with her tour publicist, who in turn, passed on the idea to Amy's manager. We all swapped countless emails and phone calls, the last of which came a day before the show saying the evening "would be very special."

Fast forward to the actual show day, I emailed Amy's tour manager for one final round of confirmation and was briefed of the set list and how it was all to go down. And the next few hours flew like lightening, starting with the fact she put on a stellar show, followed by my anticipation of the encore when "Say Once More" would be given in dedication to yours truly and Katie.

Of course, my significant other had no clue whatsoever, which made Amy asking "where's Andy at?" in front of about 4,000 people seem so strange. After standing and identifying myself about a dozen rows back, she inquired "is Katie sitting next to you?" to which I replied in my most mighty shout "yes she is!" With that, a huge spotlight hit our faces and Amy offered "now's the chance to get down on that knee and ask that question you've been meaning to ask for so long."

"We're in a time crunch babe, but will you marry me?" I asked, tapping into an inside joke because we're always in a rush. She screamed (in total shock) "yes of course!" to which we were met by a thunderous applause and Amy's command to "get in that aisle and give us a slow dance." Camera flashes snapped to red carpet degrees, though the song breezed by and we were back to locking eye contact with Amy. "I think I know the verdict, but just for the record, what did she say?," Amy inquired, to which I shouted an ecstatic "she said yes!"

After the set, the audience greeted us like a wedding receiving line (good practice I suppose) and we were quickly ushered backstage to Amy's dressing room. She came out right away giving us huge hugs and high fives over how well the plan had been executed (with more cameras flashing from her friends and fan club). Just to give an idea of how unbelievably down to earth Amy is, she thanked us for letting her be a part of such a special moment (and even signed a poster saying something similar), though we of course thanked her profusely for being so incredibly generous. To borrow from her smash single "I Will Remember You," it was truly a once in a lifetime evening that we'll never forget.

Amy Grant's "Holiday Celebration On Ice" will be televised nationally on NBC on Sunday, November 30th, as well as three separate times on The Style Network between December 1 and 25, 2008, and shown a minimum of 20 times on the Universal HD network between December, 2008 and May, 2009.