We are Engaged!
On Friday the 27th of December 2019, Michael got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!
If you’ve been following me on Instagram, or if you’re subscribed to my newsletter, this is old news.. but I felt like I needed to have it in writing here on the blog given this little blog of mine has been a diary of sorts for so many years, I couldn’t leave out this major life event..!
This is going to be a bit of a repeat if you’ve read the newsletter, so I’m sorry for that! but here’s how it happened… (scroll below to read more details and what our plans are.. so far!)
On the 27th of December he surprised me at my grandparent's house (we didn't spend Christmas together this year - or ever as a matter of fact!) he drove all the way down from Bristol to my grandparent's countryside house in West Sussex, having asked my dad a few weeks prior, and having told my sister a week before so she could be his person 'on the inside' haha he arrived and nervously hid in the secret garden... while I was completely oblivious to anything happening inside the house, until my sister told me I should go have a look in the garden because she hid a surprise present there for me!
My heart started racing, almost ran all the way there to find my love sitting on the bench on the other side of the garden, I was so happy to see him.. my heart almost beating out of my chest, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him and of course I said yes! Jumped with excitement and couldn't quite believe IT WAS HAPPENING! I will forever cherish this very special moment we had just the two of us in the middle of the secret garden, smiling and shaking with excitement.
What made it even more special was that he chose to ask me there, in one of my favourite places in the world which holds so many memories and means so much to me! but also that my family was right there waiting for us back in the house, all so happy and excited for us. It was a magical day...! After celebrating with my family we drove down to Bristol with my sister to go and tell M's parents who were incredibly happy for us.
M and I have been together for coming up to 5 years, and we’ve known each other for over 20 years (read a little bit of our story here in this post), so I can’t even begin to tell you how special and magical this day was for us. Getting married was always on the cards, it’s something we’ve been talking about for many years now, and most recently, I think earlier in 2019, we had kind of talked about it happening that same year, but I still wanted to be surprised and I wanted him to sweep me off my feet…! Which ended up meaning that every.single.holiday we went on last year, I thought “oh maybe he’ll do it then..” haha anyone who knows is close to getting engaged will get this..! It’s so nerve-wracking and frustrating at the same time, because you really don’t want to know when, but YOU REALLY DO…!!!
It definitely tested my patience ;) but also wouldn’t change it for the world, because I so appreciate the fact that we made the decision together, and as much as I had nothing to do with the whole process, I knew it was coming and we agreed to it as a team. As with any major life decisions that are going to come our way..!
M really just exceeded my expectations and just absolutely nailed it! Doing it at my grandparent’s house means SO much to me, it’s one of my favourite places in the whole world, and the whole thing couldn’t have been any better! From choosing the most perfect ring, to planning the surprise.. it’s been a dream!
It still feels completely surreal, I still smile and do a happy dance every time I look down at my left hand..! but in some ways, it also feels like we’ve been married forever... you know? This is truly what our entire relationship has always been like, it feels good, natural and easy. Always. Of course, like any couple, we’ve gone through some ups and downs, and we’ve worked through some stuff, and forever will, because we’re both very aware and conscious of the fact that the beauty of a great, healthy, happy, relationship takes work, time and dedication (we approached this subject in my latest Q&A video on Youtube, go check it out!) but it just feels like this is exactly where we’re supposed to be, and I cannot wait to spend my life with him!
Getting engaged also means that the questions are rushing in.. when? where? who? how? and as sweet as they can be, I have found them to be anxiety-inducing haha (am I the only one?!) we’re the kind of people who don’t particularly care for our birthdays because we’re don’t like to be the centre of attention, so a wedding feels like that x 938271. We always said we’d have a long engagement because we never understood why everyone wanted to rush through, and from the moment they got engaged jumped straight into wedding planning..!
There’s no right or wrong way to go about it of course, it’s very personal, but we decided we’re going to take our time with it and plan something for next year (probably in the South of France in the summer.. but who knows!) because this year felt WAY too close..! So to answer your questions, no we have done zero planning, and we probably won’t until this summer.. we might start making a rough guest list, just to calm down my anxiety about numbers, but eloping on top of a mountain or on a beach in Mexico is still not completely off the cards haha ;) (only half-joking) all we know is that we want it to be small, laid back, relaxed, not traditional, vegan, sustainable (as much as possible!) fun and enjoyable for everyone involved..! I have some ideas of what I’d like it to look like, but also completely open to ideas.. we have some months ahead to really think about what we want and I will for sure keep you posted!
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