At around 2,000 feet, after months of dating and weeks of waiting, Julie Schubert summed up her feelings to Joe Grenuk in three simple words as the early morning sun cast an autumn glow.

“I’m yours forever,” she said.

Grenuk, a wireless telecom early-retiree, and Schubert, a patient safety consultant with McKesson Corporation, wanted to do something unique and intimate for their wedding. After two trips to the Napa Valley this year, they decided on the one adventure neither of them had known before: A balloon ride.

To ensure their lofty ambitions weren’t grounded, the couple traveled west from Atlanta on a Thursday for a balloon flight over the valley. If weather problems poked a hole in their plans for a flight Friday, they still had some wiggle room to soar on Saturday or Sunday.

Their planning paid off, as Friday’s trip was canceled due to fog.

If it was canceled on both Saturday and Sunday, Grenuk said later, “I think we would’ve called in sick on Monday.” But their memorable moment came Saturday, with Yountville and Napa vineyards seen hundreds of feet below.

Listening to Schubert’s touching proclamation of devotion, Grenuk knew he would have a hard time rising above such a statement. But he went ahead anyway, with a slight crackle in his voice and unwept tears in his eyes.

“The last two years have been the best two years of my life,” said Grenuk. “I promise to love you and respect you and treat you well. I feel very lucky and very privileged to be your husband.”