Today marks six years since I met the fiance – now also known as ‘The Gamer Bloke’ – and five years since he uttered those four little words – aka ‘will you marry me?’. When I think back to that day – the warm weather, the beautiful sunset, the beach I grew up playing on – I think about how beautiful it all was, including the ring!

 

Whenever a friend or relative announces their engagement, the first question I always ask is ‘how did he pop the question?’ because I always think that there’s something insanely beautiful about engagements and the love that surrounds them. So today I’m talking about what it is that makes this process of asking someone that you love to become your legal counterpart, your soul mate, your partner in everything so utterly amazing.

 

The location is everything

 

When it comes to where he (or she) chooses to pop the question, it is all about the location. They could have the most amazing speech prepared that details when they first fell in love with you and how they plan on ensuring that you are always happy as long as they live, and that’s great and all but without the right location it just doesn’t have the same wow factor.

 

Just to clarify, it’s not about a fancy restaurant and an expensive meal, it’s about choosing a location that has meaning and value. The Gamer Bloke proposed to me on a beach where I had grown up playing on, a beach where I had happy memories with relatives who were no longer with me, and a beach where we had often walked together. This had meaning to me. I love this beach, which is why it was so special for me.

 

Lads, a plea, when it comes to popping the question, ensure you get that location right. Think about what your partner will want. A fancy restaurant might be the cliche that everyone goes for, but does your partner actually like being the centre of attention? If like me they don’t, the whole proposal could be ruined simply because of the location.

 

The ring means so much

 

There’s a saying that an engagement ring should cost something like three and a half month’s wages. I don’t know about you but I didn’t care how much my ring cost; I wouldn’t want my partner breaking the bank just to follow tradition. The ring itself means so much because of what the connotations behind it are – the circle of the ring symbolises the lifelong commitment you are making to each other.

 

Whatever the ring budget, it’s still essential to ensure that the perfect ring is selected. Every woman has her own personal tastes, which is why picking that perfect ring design is so important. While your best friend’s girl might love ultra modern ring designs, your partner might love vintage rings that have a backstory to them, for instance, and if you want to make her happy you need to look at vintage rings for sale.

 

 

A great hack for determining what type of engagement ring a woman will like is looking at the other jewellery she wears. If she wears mostly modern pieces in white gold, the chances are that she’d love a white gold engagement ring in a modern design. Whereas, if she wears mainly vintage jewellery, this is the way that you should opt to go when picking that perfect ring design.

 

It’s all about the emotion

 

When it comes to actually saying those four little words out loud, it’s important to remember that the emotion is a big aspect of a proposal. Make sure that you speak from the heart – don’t use some speech you’ve found on the internet, take the time to think about your relationship and why you want to marry your partner, and be sure to tell them this.

 

Engagements are so beautiful. I can’t think of anything more amazing that hearing a romantic and heart felt engagement story, can you? How did you get engaged? Share your story in the comments section below!