Wedding Wednesday: The Proposal

On Wednesdays I share everything wedding with you: tips, projects, organisation, photos, faux-pas, fun things and golden rules I ‘learned’ from my own wedding. I feel I need to give something back to the fabulous blog community who helped me stay sane and enjoy every second of my ‘big day’.

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Let’s begin with the beginning.

The Proposal.

Or the decision to get married. You might disagree or be shocked about this,...

... but I don’t care who asks whom. Or when. Or how. Whether there are rings or not. Whether someone gets on his/ her knee. Whether you are showered with roses. Whether you have champagne or not. Whether you wear a fancy dress and high heels or jeans and T-Shirt. Whether it is a surprise or expected. Whether you cry or not. Whether it is summer or winter. Whether it is a special or just another day.

All I care about is that it feels right for you. That you both agree. That there is kissing. Then it is the perfect proposal and the start to an amazing, exciting, sometimes unnerving but hopefully happy journey.

Therefore my proposal was perfect. For me at least and that is all that really matters.

It happened in December 2007. We were spending the evening at our favourite stretch of beach after work. Watching the sun go down. And the container ships pass by. Sitting on our old picnic blanket which always smells a bit like a wet dog. Digging our toes into the cool sand...

We just had managed to start a new life in Australia together. We were excited. We started to settle. We felt that our relationship got stronger and stronger. That we could trust each other. That there was someone we could always rely on. Even if we were out of our comfort zone. We talked about how happy and proud we were that we made our dream come true...

“So, what is our next adventure then?” I said, “Getting married?” he asked. Casually. But seriously. “Good!” I replied. Without hesitation. Without any playful pause. From the bottom of my heart. Because I meant it. Because I wanted to. Because it felt right. Then we kissed and giggled.

He didn’t go on his knees (thank God for that). He didn’t give me a ring (in fact he wasn’t even aware that he was ‘supposed’ to). I got an engagement shell, which I will treasure forever. We didn’t have champagne. Or violin music. I cannot remember what I wore. Apart from the big smile on my face which wouldn’t go away for a very long time.

We kept our engagement a secret for a few weeks. Because it felt so great to share that special something. Then we told everybody and started to get really excited about the start of our next adventure...