The Big Question

  When we announced our engagement the first questions a lot of people asked were "so how did he do it?", "where's your ring?", "did you know he was planning on proposing?". The reality of it was none of those. The few of our friends who had been there when I popped the question didn't bat an eyelid when I said I was planning on doing it.

 We'd been talking about the idea of marriage for about six months until then and the idea of me proposing to Paul hadn't even crosses my mind in that time, I always thought that despite my feminist ideals it was something I still wouldn't do until I actually did it. It was when we decided to level the playing field and both get sized for rings, take the pressure off both sides that I made my mind up, he always said that if I was expecting an engagement ring then why shouldn't he? Which is a fair point really. I planned to do it when we were down in London for Socialism 2013, I thought it'd be the perfect place, surrounded by our friends and with my best man on hand to keep me calm. I told a few people so that there would be a small (but not suspiciously large!) crowd. I was shaking for the whole night. Socialism was help on November 2nd and 3rd and it was Paul's birthday on the 3rd. I had a feeling he knew something was going on so I bought a birthday cake to cover my tracks a little ;)

 When it went midnight my Best Man had organised for the lights to come on and the music to stop, I was all prepared with the birthday cake, we sang happy birthday and then I gave him his present: a bottle of 21 year old MacDuff Highland single malt whisky with "will you be my companion?" written on the bottle. When I handed it over he turned back round and I was down on one knee with the ring. I'd been thinking it was all going to plan until he whispered "Lizi... It's too dark, I can't read it!"

 I knew I would be a big bag of nerves so I thought the bottle would speak for me but alas, my plans had been foiled! I managed to choke out a "will you marry me?", my childhood stutter coming back to haunt me at the worst possible moment. But he said yes, I cried, he cried, other people cried. very much a night to remember...