Friday 11 February 2011

The Proposal


Armed with all of the essentials, a big sparkly diamond, a bulging wedding planner, a devoted fiancé and a whole array of wedding related dilemmas, I want to share with you all of the trials and tribulations, for better or worse, ‘til death do us part (etc!), of becoming a fiancée in 2011. Ladies and Gentlemen, please be upstanding and raise your glasses, I give you the bride (to be)...
2011 brought with it not only a new series of Dancing on Ice, a whopping VAT increase and the announcement of a new baby Beckham but the 5th January also saw ‘that’ finger of my left hand, lovingly adorned with a sparkling rock. Unbeknown to me, my other half who I’ll refer to as H2B (you guessed it, hubby to be) had been saving up behind my back for the past two years and had actually had the ring in his possession for 6 months prior to popping the question. It’s amazing how much lying and deceit one person can actually accomplish in the pursuit of the ideal proposal and I’m not someone you can easily hide things from, let me tell you! I don’t want to sound cliché but it is almost impossible to not summon the magic of the movies when describing this life changing event and so in the words of Sandra Bullock’s character Margaret and Ryan Reynolds’s Andrew in The Proposal,
“Aren’t you supposed to get down on your knee or something?”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Now, we’ve been together for 6 years, so I don’t suppose you could really consider the proposal a total shock. We have been through university together (separate ones), saw loved ones come and go together, travelled to destinations around the world together, been unemployed together and generally done most things you could expect to do with a partner after 6 years together! However, it was a shock and that’s why my proposal was perfect. There was no candlelight, violins or serenading but instead there were rolling hills, snowy fields and passers-by! I never knew what my ideal proposal would consist of. Whether my no frills Mr Big would casually drop into everyday conversation, “Did you wanna get married. I wouldn’t mind being married to you,” or at a second attempt win me over with a jewel encrusted blue Manolo Blahnik heel; or like Monica I’d attempt the question myself (but yes there is a reason why girls don’t do this). The thought of Colin Firth’s proposal to Aurelia, in Love Actually is enough to make you weak at the knees but I am from Wigan, not Portugal, so this was always unlikely to happen. But I did know one thing, and this definitely is cheesy, I knew that however and whenever it happened, I would know the answer and H2B would know too!
So let’s get down to the nitty gritty details and set the scene. The year was 2011, the month January and the date the 5th. The country was the Czech Republic, the city Prague and the temperatures around -8 degrees! We had planned a city break for some post Christmas relaxation and to simply get away for a few days, as like with most young couples we both still live at home and privacy is strictly kept to a minimum! It was day two of our Bridget Jones-esque city break and a mini break means true love. Suddenly feel like screen goddess...in manner of Grace Kelly...ahem. We’d already done a whole bunch of cultural things and the fifth of January looked to be no different, as we set out to visit Petrin Hill and observe what we were told, were the best views of the city from up high. Wandering through the park, side by side like Mr Darcy and Lizzie Bennett, albeit minus our top hat and bonnet, favouring instead a woolly bobble hat and ear warmers, in a picturesque setting, the wind battering our bare faces and our digits slowly freezing, Prague at our feet, I was oblivious to what was about to happen.  

The particulars of the event make for a very uninteresting read and are, I’m sure, only captivatingly emotional to me and my Nan, so I will spare you the details and just say that H2B got down on one knee in the snow, said some smushy things and popped the question whilst brandishing a gold, three stone diamond ring. As the tears froze to my face and I clumsily struggled to remove my cream, teddy bear mittens, H2B placed the ring on my finger and I, of course, accepted his gracious offer. And that was, as they say, a wrap! Without a fluff of his lines, a stumble or barely a quiver (he is only human), he had succeeded in doing what he set out to do. And I received a proposal fit for the silver screen. Well in my eyes anyway.
x B2B x