But that all changed in August last year, on his 30th birthday when we sat down on the beach in Barcelona late at night and he pulled the ring box out of his pocket.
I had taken him on holiday to Barcelona to celebrate his milestone birthday, thinking I'd been all sneaky and romantic but really he had been the sneaky one all along. He had chosen the ring himself, got it ordered in my size and had stashed it away in his suitcase out of my sight.
So oblivious was I to his plans that I didn't question when he wouldn't let me use the hotel room safe, or why he kept his hands in his pockets the whole metro journey to the restaurant — I even didn't notice him coming out of the shower that evening before we went out singing Beyoncé's 'If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it' . . .
As we sat on the beach looking out at the dark sea, he told me he had a present for me and pulled out the box. Now I must warn you, I am a very clumsy person and he was worried I would drop the ring in the sand and it would float away or something — especially as I had previously told him of my cousin's cliff top proposal that ended with him watching in despair as the ring flew over the cliff edge into the vast valley below. Don't worry, for once nothing like this happened to me.
My other half did however make the mistake of opening the box first before asking the question — note to the boys, girls are like magpies and when they are blinded by sparkles all hearing goes out the window! Apparently he asked me to marry him, but being far too distracted by several diamonds I failed to hear him. I later told him to ask me again so I could hear and so I could officially say yes (although I think he gathered that was the answer from the way I grabbed the ring and thrust it onto my finger!).
Since that day, I have been enjoying being able to look at wedding decor, dresses and venues guilt free and revel in the abundance of ideas floating around when it comes to weddings.
