I am very pleased to announce that my boyfriend and I, are
engaged!
For those of you who don’t know, February is a very special
month, not only because it contains my birthday, but this year is also a leap
year! But what is a leap year? A leap year is also known as a bissextile year and
falls once every four years. Usually there are 28 days in February, however in a
leap year there are 29 balancing out the lunisolar calendar.
Legend has it that during the 5th Century St
Bridget complained that females had to wait too long for their suiters to
propose, so St Patrick then gave the women a chance to propose every four
years, on the 29th of February. Although, this theory was never
proven. It was in 19th Century when Queen Margaret of Scotland
allegedly passed a law, which allowed women to propose to men – better still,
the men were handed a fine if they didn’t accept!
In this day and age it’s becoming less unusual for women to
propose. 15% of women said they would consider popping the question to their
boyfriend and only 10% of ladies actually do! And I’m proud to say that I am
one of them!
After getting the inkling that Ryan (my fiancé) was planning
on proposing, I decided to take matters into my own hands. He had mentioned the
idea of getting engaged more than usual in the last couple of months, and
slowly but surely I put two and two together and figured it out.
I am one of those people who hate surprises... I can’t stand
them! The thought of not being in control of a situation and having that
horrible feeling in your belly not knowing to expect terrifies me. So what
better way to take advantage of the leap year and beat him to it! After
speaking to all my close friends and family about it, operation ‘put a ring on
it’ was ago go.
Both our parents were totally ecstatic and they’ve always
said we’re like ‘bangers and mash’. Everyone was itching to tell him. Ryan
isn’t usually the one to wear any kind of ring, so I intended on getting him a
fancy watch to pop the question with, however, a watch didn’t shout engagement
to me. After looking through plenty of websites I decided to get a ring, simple
and classic. It was perfect. (It looks great and he wears it with pride).
Next was how to do it? I knew if I did it just the two of us
he wouldn’t believe me. He would say “Oh
Grace, stop being silly.” He knew I wouldn’t usually have the balls to do
something like this. We also watched a program a couple of weeks before I
intended on proposing and the female proposed to the male. His reaction? “You
know if you ever proposed to me I would say no right? It’s just a gentleman’s
duty to ask for the hand in marriage”. Oh
shit. No pressure then. Little did I know that while I was planning
everything, so was he. He had even driven round to my family home and asked my
dad for permission!
I designed a cake that read ‘Will you marry me, my Koala’ on
it. Mainly because I thought I would be too nervous to get the words out
myself. We had booked a restaurant in my local town. His parents, my parents
and my siblings were invited. He thought we were celebrating my 20th
birthday, and everyone went along with it. When in reality everyone knew I was
going to propose. As you can tell by the blog title he said yes! His face was
hilarious, “I was going to propose! I even asked your dad for permission!”
Bless him.
So I am currently wearing his mum’s diamond engagement ring
until my bespoke ring comes. I couldn’t be happier. We have always been a wild
and fun couple and getting engaged this way just adds to our crazy
relationship. Ryan still plans on proposing, his way, with the ring he’s
designed; and I can’t wait! It just means I get to experience the excitement of
getting engaged all over again!
To everyone asking me when the wedding is… Not for a while.
We want to wait until I’m out of university and are comfortably living together
before we even think about any wedding plans. This engagement is a
stepping-stone in our relationship. It’s a sign of commitment, and that neither
one of us are going anywhere. We just want to spend the rest of our lives
together. This doesn’t mean we intend on getting married tomorrow.
NOR AM I PREGNANT! A friend of mine asked if I was expecting
just because I was engaged! I feel as though this is something I have to touch
on. Why people think getting engaged young automatically means you’re pregnant
baffles me. Why can’t two young people just get engaged because they love each
other? Ryan and I have been together 2 years and felt it was right to take the
next step in our relationship!
The amount of times I’ve heard “You’re engaged? But you’re
only twenty!” Who cares? Back in the day our grandparents would be engaged and
married by 18 and nobody battered an eyelid. When couples have babies after
knowing each other 6 months it’s all “Congratulations! I’m so excited for you!”
But when a young couple get engaged it’s all “Are you sure? It’s a big
commitment” and “Getting engaged young is like leaving the party early.”
I would rather ‘leave the party early’ with the man I love.
I’m not missing out on anything, I just have somebody to experience the rest of
my life with! I’m incredibly blessed to have found the man of my dreams at such
a young age and I can’t wait to explore the world, and go on adventures with
him. My family and close friends are so excited and have been so supportive,
and I’m so grateful to have you all in my life. To the small minded people out
there, who are talking about my life as if they know me… do yourself a favour
and find something else to talk about.
I’m incredibly happy and fortunate in my life right now.
Thank you for all the kind messages, words can’t describe how blessed I feel.
Lots of love and thank you for reading!
AlexGrace
AlexGrace
Photo: When he had just said yes.
Photo: The cake I proposed with.
