COLUMBIA, Md. — Places like the Merriweather Post Pavilion are made for special moments. But for one Maryland couple, that moment didn't happen on the stage, it happened on the lawn.
It's a story of boy meets girl.
"At actually a convent for nuns," said Rachel Hundertmark.
They were working at the time, but then the pandemic hit. Both busy, both going to school until about two years later.
"We reconnected. The next day was the concert," Rashad Polk said.
"At a Modest Mouse show," Hundertmark said.
"And that's where magic happened. We had our first kiss to the song Dramamine," said Polk.
They made each other feel a little funny. They shared their first kiss on the lawn. That night, his band would specifically become special to both of them.
"They're important to me because it reminds me of being a teenager and we both love early 2000s alternative rock," said Hundertmark.
"It wasn't so much the timing as the location. I knew that the lawn at Merriweather is just like a sanctuary for me," Polk said.
From that point on, their love deepened. They learned they could always have each other back. So, around March of this year, this unique couple separately started formulating a plan.
"I wanted to propose because he makes me feel so special, and I wanted to make him feel special, and I wanted to kind of defy gender roles," Hundertmark said.
So, June 2024, the time was right, for both of them.
"We're standing next to each other, enjoying the show, she goes into how we should spend the rest of our lives together on the lawn enjoying concerts. And I'm like, okay, and so I'm hearing forever, lawn, Merriweather, and then she drops on the knee," said Polk.
"Everybody around us was cheering, but I feel like all we saw was each other," Hundertmark said.
Rashad was definitely taken by surprise. But little did Rachel know, Rashad had his own surprise all along, he was planning on popping the question. The special moment, caught on video, had gone viral.
"There's been an internet response," said Polk.
"Yeah, a lot of the internet response has been very, very positive. But, a lot of it has been, 'I would never' or 'girl get up,'" said Hundertmark, "I'm here to say that it's ok."
And so, as the sun sets in the special place, Rashad and Rachel share the deeper meaning behind Rashad's bling.
"It's three stones," said Polk.
"It's the past, the present, and the future. And also kind of represents one for myself, him, and my daughter," Hundertmark said.
Rachel's 16-year-old daughter Jasmine filmed the whole thing, surrounded by family. She was the only one who knew the moment those two were destined for. In the excitement they forgot to say yes to each other.
"Yes, I will marry you," said Polk.
"I'll marry you! I'll marry the heck out of you," Hundertmark said.
