A conversation with Mr Gossip Girl, aka our Adam, late one afternoon not so long ago at RMW HQ was the inspiration for this post.
You see folks, I’d been talking about the speech that I’ll be giving at my wedding later this month and was pointing out how I’d noticed that more and more brides were choosing to say something of their own on their big day when Adam turned to me and asked ‘when did you know you were going to marry Ste?’
Momentarily I was taken aback. It’s not a topic that anyone has ever quizzed me on and I suppose I was protective of my response to his question. That said, I had no real problem with answering him truthfully.
‘Three months in’ was my reply.
Admittedly, this does sound a little bit crazy. I’m sure for some of you the beginnings of my relationship with the boy sound a little ‘intense’ shall we say. But it wasn’t like that.
I’m happy to concede that the radiant glow of the ‘honeymoon’ phase of any relationship does make you see life through rose-tinted glasses rather than being guided by the cold light of day. And accompanying this optimistic, hedonistic, bubble of love can be some impolitic decision making.
Despite the lovey gloopiness however, I just ‘knew’ he was the one for me. And when you know, you just ‘know’, don’t you.
Know what I mean?
Was it like that for you? At what point in your own relationship did you start entertaining the thought of marriage? One month in? Six? Three years? Perhaps it didn’t even cross your mind until he was on bended knee thrusting a glittering ring towards you.
Which brings me onto the second part of this post…
The proposal.
Or perhaps more accurately your proposal.
If you did consider the idea of marriage to your beau before the proposal transpired then it most likely follows that you thought about how your beau would ask for your hand in marriage.
I know I did.
There were a gazillion different imagined scenarios – all completely different from the last. It wasn’t important to me really where the proposal took place nor was it imperative for Ste to include any grand gestures (although I secretly love reading other couple’s amazing proposal stories).
For me it was all about the emotion invested in the act. And boy did he come good.
So what I’d really like to hear all about is your proposal adventures.
Were they as magical as you expected? Did you even allow yourselves to imagine how they would pan out? Perhaps you shared your ideal engagement scene with your other half first. Maybe you didn’t.
Did you even discuss the concept of marriage before he popped the question?
And just how important was it to you for him to ask your dad for your hand in marriage?
As always lovelies, we want to hear your thoughts.
All my love Lolly xxx
Hey Lolly,
I was the same as you and knew around 3 months in that this was the guy I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
We truly believe that fate bought us together as we met somewhere that neither of us was supposed to be on that day.
We’d discussed the idea of marriage. He’d been married before so I had to know early on that he would possibly get married again in the future so we had the discussion pretty soon into the relationship.
We never discussed ideas for proposals or anything but i left a flyer lying around the house of a bespoke jewellery maker who’s work i loved. He took the hint and ordered me a totally stunning unique ring and popped the question just before Christmas last year whilst we were out with both sets of parents for a meal.
It was magical. I was with the people I love most in the world in front of a roaring fire in a restaurant that has a pretty special place in my heart. I couldn’t have asked for more
I’m now on countdown to the big day next year
Jo xxx
I like you, knew after about 3 months of meeting my boy. He was about to embark on a life long dream of travelling the world when I met him. He left 3 months later and it broke my heart. That’s how I knew. I couldn’t bare the thought of not being able to see him. Now THAT sounds stalkerish doesn’t it! But I just knew he was the one and luckily for me, he felt the same. And 7 years later we got married
We’d discussed getting married ever since he returned from his travels (and visited New York where he fell in love with me. I don’t even care if he just tells me New York was where he really fell for me, but I’ll take it!)
But before the most amazing proposal we’d talked about our engagement and how it wouldn’t happen for a fair few years with me making the decision to go back to uni. But he’s a wyley one and little did I know he’d been planning my big surprise all along.
I didn’t know what to expect from it really but it blew my mind. So simple but EXACTLY how I would have wanted it had I thought about it more.
Just the thought of it makes me smile from ear to ear.
Ah, happy engagement stories everyone!
x
I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know! I think within the first month. It just felt different. We moved in together after four months!
Having known and loved darling hubs since the tender age of 14, it wasn’t so much when I knew I wanted to marry him, but more a question of not being able to entertain the thought of being without him. Somehow he just took over this little space in me, that became totally his, and that was really it. Very organic, no fanfare or fireworks, we just were. And are. And I love it.
As for the proposal, that was more of a big moment, on the eve of 10 years of being together in the grounds of Babington House late at night under the stars. It sounds very grand and glamorous (not really like us at all) but it was just him and me out there, the way I had always hoped.
Great post Lolly, nothing like a bit of reflection to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside! x
Yep, I’m with you ladies – I knew pretty early on too! I’m not sure I could put an exact mark on it, but it was a kind of gradual realisation through ‘Wow, He’s Really Nice’ to ‘I Hope He Likes Me as Much As I Like Him’, lingering a little too long at ‘Who’s Going To Say It First, Me or You’ finishing with what felt by now a natural conclusion.
The proposal was hilarious and pretty understated, which suited us, and yes he did ask my Dad before. Which, I have to say, I didn’t feel particularly fussed about, but there was something nice about him bothering to make the effort.
Plus, my Dad’s answer was simply, ‘I don’t know, you’ll have to ask her’!
I’m definitely in the ‘When You Know, You Know’ camp for sure!
x
We both knew after being together for 4 months and 1 month after I moved in with him.
One night both of us drunk in a pub, he told me he wanted to ask me a question but can’t just yet! That moment I knew he was speaking about proposing and I realized I wanted that to happen so much. After that night, the proposal was like huge elephant in the corner of the room, but he managed to buy a ring without me realizing!
He proposed 2 month later in Paris, on a bank of the river Seine by Notre Dame at night. There were just the two of us, and was so romantic I can’t believe it myself thinking back to it.
Is it a bit bad that I didn’t have that sudden realisation that I was going to marry him? :S
I was only 18 when we were first together and the thought of marriage was not really on my radar. A bit like @Olivia, we just were and that was it! We went to uni, moved in and made a life together and there was never any question really
Apparently Chris had been planning to propose to me a year before he actually did. A load of horrible stuff happened that year and he wanted to wait, he also secretly stashed away his bonuses and anything he could save without me knowing to get me a ring (my sister told me all this afterwards – don’t know how she kept it in for a year). Anyway I’ve blabbed on about our proposal in one of my Real Bride posts so won’t bore everyone with the story again but it was perfect, private and one of the best days of my life!
He is getting such a big hug when I get home!
xxx
I knew from pretty early on he was the one for me. We had our teething problems though, we got engaged after 6 months then broke up for a bit. When we got back together, I told him I needed time. If he asked again, he had to do it right.
However, as time went on I realised all our main issues were passed and we’d been living in bliss for quite a while. I knew we’d grow old together and I wanted to get married RIGHT NOW. So began my campaign of hint dropping. He asked me 18 months later!! The monkey! We’re getting married in February, and I know it’s him or nothing and he feels the same way about me.
I don’t know if there was ever I moment that I knew for sure that I would marry my boy but I knew from the start that I could never imagine life without him again.
A few of my friends got together with their boys at about the same time and as we hit the 3 year mark a few of them started to get engaged. It was probably at about this point that we first discussed marriage and both (honestly!) said that it wasn’t right for us at that particular time (we both wanted to move forward in our careers, I was completing a part time masters degree and we wanted to move city!).
So we carried on and attended friend’s wedding for the next couple of years. Our 5th anniversary came around and the boy booked a trip to Paris – the mum’s went in to a frenzy! But I knew deep down that he wouldn’t propose in Paris – it just isn’t his style. And I can honestly say that I wasn’t disappointed when the long weekend came and went without him getting on one knee. It would have been too cheesy for him!
However when he produced a beautiful emerald cut diamond ring, that he had designed himself, while we were enjoying the spectacular views of the Hoi An lantern festival in Vietnam, watching the candles float down the river and the whole ancient town lit by candle light, then I couldn’t have been more thrilled! The proposal was so us and we were both so happy and relaxed, it was incredible!
He has admitted since that he wishes he had proposed a couple of years ago but I’m glad he didn’t, it wouldn’t have been right. I can’t wait to tell my kids about my amazing proposal in Vietnam, the thought of it makes me smile so much!
When myself and Mr B met, the idea of marriage wasn’t something I was prepared to entertain… EVER!
He had already been married before too (with a not so happy ending!)
After 3/4 months…. well, I have to say my feelings very quickly did a complete u-turn. We used to drive to work in seperate cars but going the same
way so we’d quite often sit by side in different lanes before we finally hit opposite directions of the motorway. One day he text me and said
“I saw this beautiful girl in the car next to me with sparkly eyes – I reckon I might try and marry her!”. I was totally smitten on the idea even
more so from that day.
Running up to our 3rd anniversary of the date we met (which also happens to be Valentine’s day – just for added awww factor) I started noticing random question marks everywhere – in the steam of the mirror when I got out of the shower, on the back windscreen of my car (yes, it needed a clean…;), on the envelope of an opened letter laying on the side, on his Facebook…
The night before our anniversary we went out for dinner with friends. We walked past a closed down shop and the windows were full of A3 pieces of paper with questions marks on. Total coincidence but it was hilarious as
I was then convinced I was being stalked by the damn things (and secretly hoping there was something to it!). I think he was also very chuffed with that coincidence too!
The next night; Valentine’s night and 3 years to the day we met – at midnight – he took me out to the bridge just by our house (where we had our first kiss) and then left me saying he wanted to get his phone to take a picture.
He came out with my phone and his and told me to check my Facebook! His status popped up – asking me to marry him!!!!! Perhaps not so romantic sounding to some but as we met online, it was perfect and a reflection of that!
There was a chilled bottle of champagne waiting inside the house and lots of Facebook likes and comments from friends and family. It was perfect! We celebrate our first wedding anniversary in 2 weeks time and the reality of marriage
is even better than the dream xx
I actually can’t remember when I realised I wanted to marry the lorry driver – I spent my 20s predominantly single (and, ahem, ‘mingling’!) so marriage was never really on my mind, and when we got together I made a promise to myself that I’d take it slowly (maybe I knew he was a special one even then!). I do remember a wine-sodden conversation not long after we moved in together when he mentioned that he’d love me to be his wife, and after some thought I decided I quite liked the idea. It was really a collaborative process – we both like to take our time and think through the big things, so we spent a few weeks pondering. The eventual agreement was that I chose my ring but he chose when and where to propose – and eventually it was in our hotel room in The Lakes while we were celebrating our 2nd anniversary. I will confess that a tiny part of me was hoping for The Grand Gesture but realistically, that’s not really me and definitely not him – we’d end up sniggering like kids! And in the end it was perfect – just me, him and the antique Art Deco ruby/diamond/white gold deliciousness!
Both my parents knew we were browsing for engagement rings and had made it known that they were more than happy about it, but he only realised on the way back down the M6 that he hadn’t officially ‘asked’ my dad, so when we went to my mum’s to show her the ring he phoned my dad – a bit backwards, but it did the job! My parents are divorced and I’m not massively close to either of them, so ultimately it was more important to me that we decided together to take such a big step.
I’m possibly in a minority but I don’t actually believe in soulmates, so I don’t really believe the lorry driver and I were meant to be – what I do know is our paths came *this close* to crossing several times before we finally met (we worked next door to each other about 15 years ago, me in Tammy Girl and him flogging Bang & Olufsen gear!). He’s my best friend and I’m so glad we took the time to get to know each other. 15 weeks and 4 days till I become Mrs Lorry Driver!xx
I knew after about 2 months – he had gone on a surfing trip so I was having drinks with the girls. After a couple of glasses of wine (aka lady petrol) I descending into sobbing, not because I was sad but because I had literally never been so happy. Ah god bless the revealing powers of pinto grigio…
As far as the proposal was concerned – we had talked about getting married, being married etc etc but never about the actual proposal. In my head the perfect way would be in Ireland on the beach where he first told me he loved me. Great minds…that’s exactly where he went down on one knee. So dreamy…
I first met Mr D when we went to the same uni open day. I met him for the second time the day we started uni despite him telling me he was going somewhere different on the open day.
We were then ‘friends’ (this is how we describe it to the parents) for 3 years before finally getting our acts together and making it official – we’ve been together ever since. I like to maintain the reason that we took so long to get together was because we both knew that we were going to be together for ever and had some general student living to do before we did it (he didn’t think about it this deeply).
We lived together for years with me continually dropping hints (along with everyone else) which made him even more determined to do it his way, when he wanted to, not when I indicated I thought it would be a good time.
Then last September we went back to Florence which had been my favourite city when we went to Europe after uni. For some reason it was the first holiday that I hadn’t thought he would propose on for years, which looking back was a bit daft.
He asked me to be his wife in the dark (it was meant to be sunset but I had taken too long eating my pizza!) in a square that over looks the city and is the most wonderful place in the world and I have loved ever since the first time we visited.
It was totally unexpected and perfect.
He did ask my dad, which I didn’t really think was important to me but I actually really like that he did. It has been dubbed by Mr D and my dad as ‘the most awkward conversation we’ve ever had’ and took place when my dad came to visit for the weekend without my mum.
Mr D met him in the pub and I was due to meet them after work which gave him a limited amount of time. They immediately got down to their favourite topics of conversation – sport, books and beer and somehow Mr D had to work in a request for my hand in marriage before I showed up.
It apparently got to about five to five and three pints in and he just blurted it out. My dad responded ‘if you want to’. I showed up a couple of minutes later to what I now recognise to be uncomfortable silence. That being said though, I know my dad didn’t think it was important to be asked before hand but he is now really chuffed that he was.
Bring on next April.
xxxx
Our first date. Or the first week of us dating/hanging out/being together. And funnily enough the now husband thought the exact same (which I didn’t even know till the day of our wedding when he was saying his speech!)
We conceived our son VERY early on in our realationship which absolutely confirmed that we were meant to be <3
He proposed to me in my old bedroom at my dads house in my hometown, in bed, with our son cuddling in. The two most important boys in my life, that I live and breathe for, were present – what a beautiful way to wake up!
:D:D
Loving reading these this afternoon ladies
Like Jo above, Mr H was married before so I did ask very early on if he would ever think about getting married again (like about two weeks in…) After we moved in together about 18 months later I got a bit, um, obsessed with the idea of getting married, until he firmly told me to stop being a crazy woman, he would ask me when he asked me, and though it was on the cards I needed to calm down…
Firmly told, I suspected nothing when a week later he suggested we went for a walk, until he got down on one knee on the clifftops by the sea
As soon as we both said ‘I love you’ because it felt unnatural to not say it, I knew I’d be with him forever, with ring or without.
Previously I’ve always wanted to get married, but he had concerns given his family’s history with the institution itself. I decided that he was worth more to me than making it legal, and made that clear. I think in doing that it paved the way for him to consider proposing without pressure, as I’d said I would marry him in a heartbeat, but if it wasn’t for us I’d accept it.
So when he proposed after some tough times, it was on my return from a hen weekend, in our first home together, with the song I’d always said I’d want as my first dance at my wedding on the stereo, roses on the table, champagne chilling, I still didn’t see it coming! When I took in all that was going on, all of the above, tidy flat (I later found out he’d stuffed his clothes down his side of the bed, so from the hall I couldn’t see them!), he said ‘close your eyes, I’ve got another surprise’. I honestly thought that he’d considered everything to make a romantic night, and had remembered to buy a 3-litre bottle of diet coke from Iceland before it closed! To see him before me on one knee was baffling, joyous and unexpected. I snarfled and bawled and asked if he was serious. A lot. He told me he was and that his knee was hurting so please could I answer. More snarfling and snottering and nodding and I got me a ring. And it’s gorgeous, and is the basis for our whole colour scheme for the wedding
Awww Lolly, lovely post
I have to say I’m in the same place as @Tabitha & @Olivia.
Dave & I met in our first year of uni so I was definitely not expecting to meet the man I was to marry there! But slowly but surely we just became one. Yes we have been through some rough patches but once through those I really realised that he was definitely the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. And that without his constant support and love I would be lost.
Coming from a divorced family, however, meant that I had some very mixed feelings on the whole subject! I kind of wanted to get married but a part of me was always a little scared & didn’t want to see history repeating itself. I decided that what was more important was buying a house together…not something that was realistically going to happen anytime soon on student accountant & admin assistant’s combined wage!!!
Anyhoo, the year Dave was to propose my little bro proposed to his (now) missus and on a trip to see my mum in France we (my mum & I) had a bit of a row about what ‘had’ to happen at my brothers wedding & all our family politics! I there declared that I wasn’t getting married if I had to put up with all the ridiculous family politics that come with it! Little did I know Dave was actually planning on asking my mum that week if she would be happy for him to propose!!!! (oops, me & my big mouth!)
(he later had to private message her on facebook instead!! ha ha)
Despite all my drama queen antics that December on my 27th birthday Dave decided to pop the question & boy am I glad he did!
The proposal was perfect & he had put so much thought into it, researching the perfect restaurant in London – voted the most romantic by many critics!!! – and making it so I had no idea (the stories of how he hid from me his trips to jewellers had me in stitches!).
And as much as I was slightly miffed that nearly ALL our friends knew before me (meaning I had few people to actually announce it to) – I quite like the idea that he was so excited by the prospect of proposing to me that he just couldn’t hold it in!
xxx
oh & @Tabitha – you nearly made me cry with your He is getting such a big hug when I get home’ comment!
xx
I knew after about 2 months but didnt say anything!! Then we went away to Paris for my birthday about 4 months after we met and he told me he loved me over a bottle of champagne and macaroons in the most beautiful hotel bar in Paris after a very romantic meal!! we are not engaged yet but blissfully happy and if how he told me he loved me says anything I’m sure when the proposal finally happens it will be very soppy and full of tears of joy!!
It seems very odd that so many people knew all so early and I am one amongst them. We are actually just newly engaged (but obviously I have been following RMW like an obsessed stalker for sometime) but we also knew about 2/3 months in to the relationship that a wedding was likely to be the result.
He is 2 years younger than me so when we met aged 13 and 15 the gap is probably the reason for us not getting together sooner but after 6 years of flirting it was decided that the time was right. It was probably that decision that was the difficult one that when we were finally together it was easy to decide that we were the one for each other.
This, along with our good and blunt communication, did take any surprise (and romance) out of the proposal as we have been talking about it for so long. The proposal happened at the weekend when he picked me up wearing a shirt and tie (which he never does) and drove me to my favourite local jeweller and bought a ring. We were both too stunned by how easy the trip to the jewellers was that we forgot the proposal that it was not until the next day that he actually took me out to some castle ruins to ask me.
Mr. J and I met online, on a dating website (they do work!).
I’d come out of a horrible realtionship and he had too, he has a daughter and we were both very cautious, but it just felt ‘right’. I think as soon as we met we felt together and its been that way since, 6 years ago now.
We always knew we’d get married and talked about it over the years but not properly, but then last year he suddenly said i think its time we started to think about this properly. We went to look at rings, i chose the diamond and the setting, he went to collect without me. He asked my Dad when we were at a football match, my Dad had tears in his eyes as he was so happy, i think they MIGHT have even hugged!
I’d never considered how the proposal would happen, i was told it wouldnt be over christmas and new year as he wanted to do it on its own.
New Years Eve we went out for dinner on our own to a little country pub, we’d always had champagne on NYE so that wasnt a suprise, I had a quick eye of the pockets, no ring box that i could spy, so i put the idea out of my head.
11.15pm and he goes to the ‘toilet’ but comes back with a big rectangular box ‘Ive bought you another present but i didnt want to give it you at Christmas’ i open it quite surpised as its an Ipad, ‘Its for your commute you can watch movies and read books and stuff…..I got you a 32gb turn it over and check as i havent taken it out of the box….’
So I turn it over, and engraved on the back is ‘Helen….Marry Me.’
A very modern proposal, so thoughtful and completely not how I ever expected!!
As I write this I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes reading each and everyone of your wonderful stories.
Ladies they are gorgeous, every single one of them and I love how emotionally charged all of you clearly are writing about them.
I’d love to sit here and delve deeper into each of your stories to ask you more questions but there’s so many of you (big thanks for sharing by the way) and I don’t want to leave anyone out by only responding to a few.
Perhaps we should introduce an engagement spotlight to the blog – just a thought anyway.
It’s clear nonetheless that you’ll have some amazing tales to pass down to your children and your grandchildren too.
I’m off to dry my (very soppy) eyes!
Big love to all of you xxxx
I knew about 3/4 months in, we had been joking about needing a holiday and then booked one to visit his brother in Greece which felt a bit crazy and impulsive at the time – I hadn’t even met his parents yet!
His proposal would have been perfect…. If my Dad hadn’t ruined it by texting me to ask “Did you say yes?”, swiftly followed by a text from my Mum asking “What was the answer?!” before he’d had a chance to say anything! I kept quiet though, and he proposed after he’d been working in Canada for 4 months
x
I’ve known from the moment I met him..I know that sounds cheesy and unrealistic but I really think I did..I met him aged 11…we got together aged 16 and the rest is history
xxx
Haha, pleased to see another ruined by the dad story! My fiance specifically picked a day to call my dad knowing my mum was out. Little did he know that dad would text mum who would say “girls can one of you read this text from dad to me, I haven’t got my glasses on…” Ooops!
I knew I loved my fiancé 2 weeks in to the start of our relationship, June 2006… but neither of us said anything to each other until about a month later, when my fiancé wrote me a poem to tell me he loved me… Which is great because I love it when the guy says ‘I Love you’ first
……
I knew he would be the one I would marry around Christmas time… We was at his work Christmas party and I just knew…. but it was never mentioned again until about a year later.
But I always used to dream about the proposal, big gestures… or a trip to Paris… my fiancé took me on a few special adventures during 2006-2010 and I would always think in the back of my mind is this it??? Will he ask…. he never asked lol
Until I least expected it, June 2010…. and there was no big gestures, no trip….
We was relaxing on a Sunday morning on the sofa, pj’s the lot…. and in the comfort of our first home together he popped the Question!! Handing me a deep blue box with a sparkly 3 circle cluster of diamond ring. Gorgeous!
It was the most romantic thing he had ever done…. simple but personal, and perfect for me…. Even though I dreamt of big gestures and the getting down on 1 knew… I get embarrassed way too easy… So it was just wonderful we then went to our favourite restaurant to celebrate.
Since then…. I have funny enough had 2 other proposals…..
My first ring had to be sent back *Gutting* so for about a year I didn’t have a lovely ring to show everyone…. But on Holiday in Cyprus my fiancé found a stunning ring to replace my original…. white gold twisted band with diamonds and a pure white pearl in the centre.
I always wanted something abit different… and Cyprus is a huge love of mine so it was like having a piece of the island with me.
My fiancé re-proposed in a cobbled street in my favourite old town of limassol. It was great perfect ending to our Holiday.
This then brings me on to my 3rd and final proposal…. again sadly the pearl was ripped away from my band and unable to repair (I haven’t had much luck with my rings so far **cringe **)…. We still have the bits so I will fix them to my bouquet and then have it placed inside a photo frame for our wedding pictures.
My fiancé didn’t want to risk me wearing it again incase we weren’t so lucky to find the pearl again…. So I just choose to wear a plain band until our wedding day.
Un known to me….. my wonderful fiancé had other ideas…. he’s very sneaky (in a good way)
We’d just been to the theatre in London and was walking along the Jubilee bridge opposite the London eye… and out of nowhere… my fiancé is telling me how much bad luck we had faced through our time together and how much we loved each other, that we together can overcome anything…. and asked me to still marry him, producing a stunning solitaire ring in a Crown setting…. he picked this ring because my name means Crown in Greek. I was blown away, a girl dreams of being proposed to once in her life time…. and I was being asked for the 3rd time by the most amazing man in the world! I am truly lucky **some may say 3rd time lucky
**
2 wedding dates have been set but then changed…. maybe there is a running pattern and 3rd Time lucky
xxxx
Before we even started going out! I used to work with him and from day one had an immense crush! As I got to know him more I knew he had to be mine. Like for good!!
A couple of years later, we had ended our respective relationships, went on a few dog walks together and about a month later moved in together! It did have a somewhat Romeo and Juliet feel to it initially for various reasons but wow was it worth it.
I knew from the minute he moved in and we were a couple that it was everything I had daydreamed about for a loooong time and just wanted to marry him there and then a month in!
The proposal, eighteen months later happened rather suddenly in bed! Nothing super grand, our gorgeous dog armed with a ring round her neck was summoned to our bed followed by a lovely little speech! Then we went away for the weekend in a yummy little love bubble.
Had I envisaged a huge proposal thingy with a plane writing “will you marry me” in the sky? Yep. But I wouldn’t swap it now because it was just us, in our home and it was perfect.
xx
Like @Alex Mrs M, I knew before we even started going out. We were both seeing someone else when we first met although I’d been having problems (and little did I know, so had he!) with my then partner. He and his sister (my now best friends) had bought my local pub and the first night I met him I told my friend that he was the man I was going to marry.
It all got a bit messy and for about a year things were touch and go but I never gave up. Then finally we were together. We spent 4 years then had a break. Little things ust got out of hand and got on top of us and we seperated for 3 months. See I just wasn’t sure that he really , like REALLY loved me. During those three months he more than proved himself and we got back together. People say that once you’ve had a split, things are never the same. This was true for us, they were not the same, they were better. A MILLION times better. We have all the things we had before but we’re so much more open and honest and just better.
So we went to Spain last Summer to stay with his parents and he surprised me with a trip to Formentera, the tiny islnad off Ibiza. I immediately thought “he’s gonna propose” and promptly phoned my sister. She knew of course and threw me off the scent spectacularly!
We spent three nights there and on the first night a tiny part of me was still expecting him to propose but when he didn’t, I gave up on the idea. Then on the second night he suggested a picnic on the beach as the restaurants were REALLY expensive. I completely understood and we got nibbles and a bottle of wine and headed to the beach. We spread out the food and just as the sun was going down and I was munching on pistachios, he told me to put them down, gave a little speech (at which I started to cry cos I knew it was coming) and produced this amazing diamond!
Of course I said yes and we’re getting married on the 2nd of May next year and one of the first things I will be saying in my speech, because it’s so true, will be “I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you”
Xxxxx
It was really important to me that Mr.K asked my father’s permission for my hand. He managed to do it very sneakily but couldn’t avoid my large family. He made a detour on his way home from a business trip, a three hour detour. My sister had helped him pick out a ring so when he asked if he could “pop by”, (B’ham to Swansea via Hereford isn’t really “popping by”) they all knew what was coming!! He waited until after having dinner with them all and they all waited patiently, bursting with excitement for what they knew was coming. They all ended up lined up on a sofa, a row of five expectant faces and when he asked my dad for his permission I expect the squeals were audible from the far side of an adjacent orchard!!
My engagement story started at work. I was told by my boss there was a new client that wanted to discuss a big project and wanted to meet me one weekend in Cornwall. This was really unusual but I was super excited. I did lots of research on the client, my admin guy booked my flights n I was ready to roll. However, it was the same weekend me and the boy wanted to go away so I asked if he could come with me…the client said yes. So we hopped on a plane one afternoon and got into the pre booked taxi at the other end. When we got in the taxi driver told me the client wanted to meet on the beach….I thought this was really odd and started to get nervous and grumpy. We got to the beach and we’re walking across the sand when the boy started wittering on about us and our future…I was getting really agitated, here I was meeting a mysterious client with a lot of pressure to bag a big project and he’s rambling on and on…..then he stopped walking and pulled out a little box. I burst into tears n continued to cry for about 3 days straight…happy tears of course! He’d planned the whole thing… getting my entire work place plus friends and family in on it! So there was no client only a beautiful ring and a weekend in a little love bubble with the most amazing man EVER! We’re getting married in Cornwall next summer and I can’t blooming wait
xxx
I knew on our second date. I realise how crazy I sound but when we met we just clicked. We didn’t rush into anything – we were long distance for the first 9 months – but we knew. Everyone else knew too – one friend told us you could tell we were in love after three weeks. On that second date, I had flu and the boy spent it making me soup and passing me tissues. Some date! And he told me HE felt selfish for still wanting to see me. Erm, he looked after me and caught my germs! And that night I remember looking at him in awe and thinking: you are the most beautiful man I have ever met.
And I’ve met Johnny Depp,
He planned to propose on our first anniversary – I had an inkling as he started practising in his sleep! I was 28, he was 35, we both wanted to get married and have a family, in that order.
And then he had an accident.
Sustained head injuries.
Was found lying in a pool of his own blood.
Scariest day of my life.
And he had to give up work for a while and also gave up on proposing as he felt he couldn’t ask while I was taking care of him. I knew because he had practised in his sleep and because he kind of let it slip.
So I knew he had been going to ask and didnt know if he would still ask. In the run up to our second anniversary he dropped more hints and it wasn’t exactly a surprise but it was hugely emotional!
Amazing stories all of them! I’ve loved reading this.
@Lolly, you’re onto something. As much as we all love RMW for the inspiration and the pretty, we’re a community too – one with a huge heart and a whole heap of stories, loves, happiness, worries, stress… I love posts like this when people really open up and share.
Personally, I’ve shared a teeny bit of our story already, but generally I do find it difficult to open up about feelings and all that jazz. It was very early on with me and Lee, we just knew!
Love a good love story xx
I can’t believe I haven’t read a post where one of you ladies did the asking! Mr S and I have been together since I was 21 and we have just got married 7 years after we got together. We both knew marriage was on the cards and I knew he was looking at rings but I had got a little fed up waiting and I gave him a deadline ( which he did not know about!) and hatched a cunning plan. Mr S had been going on about wanting a certain hand made watch and after the deadline came and went, I decided to buy the watch for his birthday. I knew whenever he proposed it would never be a massive surprise for me – but knew it would be for him. So in the morning of his birthday I cooked him some eggs with smoked salmon and gave him the watch and told him it came with a question. It was nice and simple in our own home and the pressure for the perfect proposal was taken away. And he had a beautiful engagement watch.
He them promptly whisked me away for the weekend for ring shopping. And we spend a lovely weekend together chosing my ring.
I know some people think it is odd but it was nice and felt right for us!
Any other ladies popped the question?
I knew on our second date. After our first date, I knew I had met someone who would be important to me, and remember thinking “even if he doesn’t want me to be his girlfriend, I hope he wants to be my friend.”
The second date, we went to see a 3D film. When we came out, I had a hideous migraine, felt horribly sick and just needed to go home- but he asked if I wanted to go for a drink, and I said yes. That’s when I knew. My head felt like it was going to explode but I still wanted to spend more time with him.
He proposed in the kitchen, when I was cooking fajitas in my pajamas. He wanted to do it in Scotland the following week, but had just bought the ring that night and it was burning a hole in his pocket!
Well, I’m obsessed with RMW and the boy’s not even proposed yet! So I knew I wanted to pretty early (month 3ish), but he’s from Australia and I’m from Scotland so it felt a bit impossible. After several plans to go home on his part in the first year, he’s now staying here permanently and we’ve been together four years. I’m so happy and know I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I don’t care how long he takes to propose, we’re only 25 and have plenty of plans of working in different countries etc to get on with. But I promise that as soon as he’s popped that all important question I will be even more obsessed with RMW than now
xx
I think I knew A was the one I’d marry when we got back together after a brief break. How I’d felt not seeing him for two weeks was so different to former dramatic break ups, and getting back together felt like coming home. I then proceeded to pester him about it on a weekly basis, while everyone around us got married (5 weddings this year), upped the pestering to all day, every day and he stayed strong and waited until he thought it was right, and couldn’t cope with another night on the sofa watching Don’t Tell The Bride with me piping in about “our” wedding every two minutes. I am a mental.
I think he asked everyone for permission to ask me. Dad was first, and wasn’t very positive, which upset him and A told me all about it (no secrets in our house). Then he asked my mum, dad no.2, my brother and told all my friends before he actually did it. I was VERY suspicious by the time I dropped him at work two Fridays ago. When he summoned me home at 3.10pm my boss told me to “manage my expectations” and it didn’t matter if that wasn’t the day. I got home to a photo of him holding a sign saying Welcome Home on the front door and I knew this was it. By the time I got to our living room (which is three steps), one of our songs was playing, there were candles everywhere and rose petals on the rug. And the boy on one knee with the most beautiful ring in his hand. I definitely picked a goodun’!
I’m not sure when I knew…probably fairly early on. Mr G always gave me the confidence to better myself, gave me a different perspective on life and encouraged me to be the best I could. We never, ever, talked about marriage, despite being together for 5 years before The Proposal. I didn’t want to jinx it or put any pressure on him – I wanted him to propose because he wanted to, not because he thought it was what I wanted. The proposal itself was rather unusual – I always knew it was never going to be ‘normal’. In fact, we were on holiday and had just achieved my dream of snorkelling with whale sharks. I had spent all morning swimming like a mad woman to try to keep up with these incredible creatures. I was in a bikini, with hair like dreadlocks and all red in the face! When we got back into the boat, Mr G pretended he had found an oyster on the sea bed – he cracked it open with his dive knife and came to show me. I didn’t want to look as I hate oysters, but when I did he was on one knee and there was no oyster inside the shell, just a big fat diamond ring! Oh, and the little Mexican skipper was jumping up and down in the background singing “Say yes, say yes, say yes”! Which I did!
I’ve been lucky enough to see whale sharks since then – I asked whether I’d get another diamond ring this time too, but apparently it doesn’t work that way.
My husband, Sam, and I spent three years under each other’s noses at university (we studied the same degree, but were in different years) without ever exchanging a word until one fateful night when a mutual friend introduced us. From then on we were inseparable!
To say I knew he was the one for me from the first date may sound rather keen, but if I’m honest it’s the truth. Apparently he felt the same way and five months into our relationship while walking beside our favourite loch we had a conversation about how lovely it would be to get married beside the water in amongst the trees. This conversation then lead to an informal and spontaneous comment from Sam, “Let’s get married and hold the ceremony right here.”…
Without any hesitation, which would’ve been expected after such a short time together I whole heartedly agreed and that was that – we had unofficially decided to get married!!
Our formal engagement wasn’t until a few months later, even thought we’d already chosen and booked our reception venue by then. Sam swept me away to a local castle for a picnic and surprised me with a beautiful ring that he had custom-made. He didn’t get down on one knee he just sat crossed-legged opposite me on the grass and asked me to be his wife.
It was perfect. A little cheesy maybe, but if there’s ever a time to be cheesy then getting engaged is certainly it.
We didn’t have a long engagement. We were married on the 19th of May this year, only nine months after our ‘official’ engagement, at the very place we had initially decided on surrounded by eighty-seven of our nearest and dearest. It was the most wonderful day of my life and I wouldn’t change anything about it, not even the rain!
I knew on our first date that he was ´the one´. I met James through a friend and we´d had a conversation or two and that was about it. I was 20 something, living in London with my besties and not really bothered about settling down and only wanted to have fun as as single girl and enjoy life. Then one night my whole life changed. This particular night said friend and I were planning to go out to a party and she invited him. He apparently got lost (being from the Midlands and a typical man who never asks for directions!) and spent nearly 2 hours wandering the streets of Soho looking for us at the party (which happened to be in an underground bar so no phone service – we are talking 13 years ago guys and One-to-One was the best we had!). He gave up and was on his way home when my friend happened to nip outside the party and literally bumped into him.
We talked about marriage quite early on in our relationship as we both felt the same way about each other. We just ´knew´ it was meant to be so it just came up naturally. I was never one of those girls who dreamt about a big white wedding with all the trimmings (which is quite funny as I am an event decorator now and have to plan the tiniest of details) so we had a very relaxed civil ceremony in a beautiful stately home.
And the rest as they say is history. Fast forward 5 years of ´dating´, 9 years of marriage and 2 kids later and this is where we are now. Still in love and he is still the one.
Loving this post!! I can’t think of one exact moment when I ‘knew’, just thousands of little moments!!!
The proposal was AMAZING – I’m so glad that we have a story to tell – I’d have hated it to be on our sofa or something – luckily it would have been totally out of character for my very thoughtful and romantic boy!!! When we’d been together about six months we went to London for a Christmassy weekend, and we’d both planned a surprise for each other … mine was afternoon tea at a fancy hotel, which I LOVED!! We had talked about getting married, and I knew he’d asked my Dad (and Mum – while we were in a cafe and I’d popped to the shop – apparently my Mum cried, and as the boy could see me coming back down the road he had to tell her to pull herself together or I’d know!!), so I knew it was on the cards, but up until ten minutes before he was still telling me he still had months of saving to do!! Sorry, this is getting a bit rambly, stick with it!! So a couple of years later we were in London for the weekend again, and he said he’d planned a surprise, he wouldn’t tell me much about it, other than it was something we’d never done before – so on the day he said we were going for afternoon tea I began to get a bit suspicious!! (Coincidentally, just before the weekend I’d been talking to a friend at work about afternoon tea, and I actually said that it had been lovely, but I wouldn’t want to go every time we were in London, however, if he took me back there to propose or something that would be really lovely!!). So we got to the hotel, sat down, and then the lady brought out the tray with cakes and sandwiches on … and on the top layer, amongst the yummy cakes was the most beautiful ring in it’s box, exactly the one I would have chosen, and my gorgeous boy down on one knee in the middle of the afternoon tea parlour!!! Absolutely brilliant!!!!!
It turned out that literally everyone knee it was going to happen except me, and were all sitting on the edge of their seats all afternoon waiting for the phone to ring!!! I wouldn’t have changed a thing – and we’re currently busy planning our wedding for October next year, when we’ll be serving afternoon tea cakes and scones instead of dessert!!! xxx
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I knew from about 6 months in, when I took the decision to move from Oxford to Norfolk to be with him! 3 hour journeys back and forth each weekend really made us realise we truly loved each other from very early on!
We went to Loch Lomond for our 1 year anniversary, and he waited until the very last day, when we had gone hiking up a beautiful waterfall and we were stood at the top looking out over a stunning Scottish landscape when he turned around and asked me…..instant yes!!!
I knew he had already asked my Dad (my Mum told me!!) and we had discussed getting married, but he still waited about 3 months after asking my Dad before doing the deed……..it was driving me mad waiting for him to choose his moment!!!
We are getting married in June 2013 and so everything is now full steam ahead for the wedding xxx
I love hearing stories like the cake one but I have to say I for one am totally uneasy with the notion that your proposal is somehow more valid if you have a story to tell and it wasn’t just on a sofa or something. My boy wanted to have a picnic but it rained and he ended up getting down on one knee in our bedroom. Sometimes I end up feeling a tad inferior somehow because he didn’t ask me via skywriting or make a film or hide the ring somewhere absurd, and I would ask those of you who say things like “I’m so glad I have a story to tell…” to consider that some of us – by your logic – don’t, and end up feeling kind of pants about it.
My now-husband got down on one knee and asked me to do him the honour of becoming his wife. Is that not story enough?
By the way, I’m amazed that some men told everyone before they asked. I would have been FURIOUS. I don’t like presumptiousness, or feeling obliged, and even though my mister KNEW I would say yes, I would not have been very happy if he’d told everybody before he asked me. I would have felt pressured to say yes (ditto a public proposal). I WAS going to say yes, but I wanted that to be 100% me.
Erm, RMW bods, Lauren’s email is sending out of office replies to people who comment…
I am newly engaged and love this site, it has become a trusted friend that accompanies me when I need inspiration! I know this is a thread about the ‘moment you knew’ and agree that for me it was ‘lots of little moments’. I may be late to the discussion, with the last thread being a year old, but hey. felt inspired to respond! Incidentally, i had asked my now-fiance if he would marry me many ‘merry’ times (read ‘tipsy’/'post-shenanigans’ times), but always in a jokey way. I guess I always ‘knew’ as it just felt different. We met in our early 30s & had both walked away from previous relationships (me, twice. him, three times) so we were never ones to ‘settle’ just for the sake of being in a couple & at the time we met, we both felt happy that we might be people who would not settle or be coupled up, but were happy enough in our own lives doing our thing.
Then everything changed the day of the Royal Wedding two years ago when we met through mutual friends, totally randomly, at a post royal-wedding street party. As they say, the rest is history – we moved in together and he proposed a month ago on our two year anniversary. I was not expecting it in the slightest as he always played down the idea of getting married – but little did I know that he had hatched a plan that spanned 4 months.. He booked a table at the venue where we had our first date, we ordered margaritas (to recreate the ’5 margarita challenge’ of our first date) and he then disappeared. After looking for him – and heading to the mens loo to find him (lol!) and several people looking at me in bewilderment – I was presented with a hand written note from him, delivered by one of the bar staff, to say that he was upstairs and that we were staying in the hotel for the evening..I burst into tears realising that he had arranged a surprise for our anniversary but It did not occur to me in the slightest that he had planned to propose. I was then taken upstairs to the suite (margaritas swiftly following us on trays), and ‘our song’ was playing. He had filled the bathroom with candles and recreated the Ganga aarti (hindu prayers) that we had attended when we went to my friends wedding in India the previous year. There was a bath filled with water, floating candles and lotus flowers. I still had NO idea what was going on, and kept laughing/holding my face in my hands, until he told me to ‘look inside’ and the ring was in a floating candle in the bath. I cant really put into words what went through my mind but it was like a sea of emotion & it was the biggest surprise of my life. I was totally overwhelmed & overjoyed and always thought I would burst into tears, I was so happy that i just laughed & laughed and hugged him.
Although I have gone into lots of detail about my experience (apologies, as its still very recent!) I really wanted to say that I totally agree with Anne’s post and felt inclined to respond in support, these types of moments need not be scripted & the whole experience of being proposed to is personal and meaningful enough as it is, regardless of whether there is a ‘story’ or not’. Just because it may occur in a natural and spontaneous context – which I had actually always advocated – does not diminish the experience at all. I was living with one of my oldest friends (whose wedding my now fiance and I attended in India) and when her now husband proposed to her, he got down on one knee in our flat and asked her to marry him.. Every proposal – and that moment you two share together – in itself is its own story. End of. X