The Perfect Proposal

Did you know... it is tradition that women may propose marriage only on a leap year, on the 29^th of February to be exact... I was curious to find out if this tradition still exists today and much to my delight many women all over the country did get down on one knee and proposed marriage to their unsuspecting partners this week!

TV Presenter, Lisa Maxwell from ITV’s Loose Women was one of the brave ladies who did just that... as the clock struck midnight on February the 29^th whilst lying in bed in her PJ’s she proposed to her long term boyfriend Paul – how romantic! The other loose women were delighted and very proud of Lisa, saying it showed girl power...

Three other ladies also proposed live on air on Wednesday’s episode of Loose Women... I take my hat off to them, doing something (and in this case very publically) that is usually seen as the ‘guy thing to do’ is very brave.... And I’m sure I'm not the only one thinking; if these guys wanted to get married, surly they would have proposed...? All of these guys did accept the marriage proposal and looked extremely happy, so that obviously isn’t the case.... Did it just not cross their mind? Or were they planning on proposing in the future?.... Who knows?

I did get a phone call once from a guy asking if I plan proposals!... The more I thought about it, the more I realised how difficult and daunting it is for some guys to plan the Perfect Proposal.

Take my husband Jon for example, we had only been together for just over a year and were already planning our future together, it was clear to see that we both wanted to get married and live happily ever after... It was just a case of getting engaged...  Jon told me that he wanted to proposal traditionally when the time was right but openly admitted that he felt the pressure of getting in right due to my job – “Everyone is going to want to hear how ‘The Wedding Planner’ was proposed to, it’s got to be good!”

He said he would get me when I least expected it, If he’d suggested a weekend in Paris or a romantic picnic, I would have guessed straight away what was about to happen and spoil the surprise...

He did get me when I was least expecting it... I had been out coordinating a wedding, I arrived home in the evening to find a note on the front door “Open this door carefully”... The second I opened the door all I could see was a path of candles through the lounge, the music playing was the song that we had already chosen for our first dance song, I knew straight away what was happening... I followed the path of candles (in floods of tears!) to find even more candles in the dining room and kitchen, still no sign of Jon, but on the table was a bottle of Moet, 2 glasses and a card which read “How’d you like it if both our names have Stones on the end?” (The lyrics from one of our favourite songs)... And then he appeared with a sparkly ring in hand and got down on one knee... don’t ask me to repeat what he said as I can’t remember, but I do remember that the first words out of my mouth after his heartfelt speech were “It’s hot in here with all these candles!”

That was my perfect proposal... I would have been mortified if he had proposed anywhere there were crowds of people, to me a proposal is something special between two people... but that’s just me...

There really is no right or wrong or good or bad proposal, it’s simply what suits you as a couple, some girls would love an extravagant show of affection such as ‘Will you marry me’ written in the sand that they fly over in a helicopter, whereas other would be over the moon with a Haribo sweet ring left on their pillow at night.

Guys (or girls) when planning your perfect proposal, think about the two of you as a couple, what you love and the things that are important to you and remember you don’t have to spend a fortune, as they say it’s the thought that counts...

Good luck x