Country Music Artists Gary Wayne and Ali Taylor Are Engaged: 'My Answer Is Yes Forever' (Exclusive)

Wayne popped the question during a day out on the lake in Taylor's hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Gary Wayne and Ali Taylor are headed to the altar!

The country music singers got engaged on Sept. 2 while the Nashville-based pair was visiting Raystown Lake in Taylor's hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

"We always vacation there around that time with her family. What Ali didn't know was that this time I had been talking with her family, and mine, to plan a proposal," Wayne tells PEOPLE.

Wayne carefully plotted out the sequence of the day's events to make sure the big moment was a surprise for Taylor. The couple did some kayaking in the morning, and then Wayne and Taylor's brother took a jet ski to a small island on the lake to set up for the proposal.

Taylor stayed back to hang out with her father, but the group planned to meet later on the island. To "throw her off the scent," Wayne designed a little ruse for Taylor.

"We talked with the boat patrol and told them to fake-pull over their boat while she and her dad approached the island," he explains. "The boat police were following their boat saying they were gonna pull them over at the island."

The element of surprise didn't last long, however, as Wayne had gone all out to set a romantic scene and invited his family to watch the proposal. He hung a gold-and-white balloon arch under the trees and added other heart-shaped balloons, flowers and a "Will You Marry Me?" banner.

"As they approached the island, she saw my family there and me standing on the shore and heart balloons everywhere," Wayne recounts. "I think it hit her what we had been up to at that moment."

"I helped her off the boat, and we walked down the little red carpet I made and I told her how much I loved her," he continues. "I told her she's my best friend and there is no one else I want to do life with. The good, the bad, the easy, the hard times, I want all of it with her."

He presented Taylor with a stunning oval-shaped diamond solitaire ring. She says she was overcome with emotion when Wayne proposed. "My hands were shaking — I was so surprised. My answer is forever yes!" she tells PEOPLE.

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After taking photos on the island to preserve the special memory, the couple and their families enjoyed a celebratory dinner at Marina Cafe on the lake.

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A month later, Wayne is basking in the glow of the happy moment. "I feel so blessed to have not only a partner in music, but in life. It was a day I'll never forget," he says.

The pair, who have been together for nearly four years, first met at a songwriters' event in Nashville. "She was singing on one end of the stage, and I was on the other. I remember thinking, 'Wow, this girl is an amazing singer,' " he recalls.

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Their connection started with a music collaboration but grew into something much deeper.

"She came up to me later that night and asked to co-write. The rest is history!" Wayne says.

Now, the two sing and perform as a duo and have written and released numerous songs together. Their very first duet, the romantic "Showed Me Love," has had more than 1 million streams across all platforms.

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