The Engagement

My first blog. Where to start? I'm a twenty something, down to earth, usually chilled out kind of girl. I say usually as that is how I used to be. You know, before the lovely boyfriend decided I was The One and whisked me away to the Lake District to propose. It was perfect. He'd asked permission of both my parents, took both mums with him to pick the ring, then rented out a little wooden rowboat on Lake Windermere and managed to even get down on one knee (albeit very carefully) in said boat to produce an even moreso perfect ring so shiny and sparkly which also fitted perfectly , on the only perfectly warm, sunny day of our trip. Not forgetting that this was followed by a posh meal, room upgrade and complimentary champagne from the hotel we were staying at (thank you to The Waterhead Hotel, Ambleside for their hospitality - would definitely recommend it).

I would have put money on it that I wouldn't have cried when he popped the question but I did. Twice. For the rest of the weekend, I was floating on air, as I should think, all those that have been in a similar situation to me, do.

It's nearly 2 months since we've been engaged now. Just to warn you, if you've just recently become engaged, the next few months will be very overwhelming. I had no idea. And, like I said, I usually describe myself as being quite laid back and chilled out, but I'm really fighting the urge to be Bridezilla.

We've set a date for the wedding. It's just under 2 years from now and since day one, all I've said I wanted sorting is the church, venue and photographer. I am a bit of a freak for liking things organised and in lists. I remember saying "once I have those sorted, I'll not mention the wedding again until after Christmas" (we're now in June). I've already bought mirrors for my centrepieces to stand on, table gems, table trivia and my favours. Ok, ok, I got a bit carried away with the excitement but I'm over it now.

I've trawled the internet and magazines for hours to look for potential venues, booked to go see them, narrowed them down to a shorter short-list and are trying to choose between 2. Our vicar inconveniently(!) decided to go on holiday for 2 weeks before giving me a decision on whether our date was available to him and when I'd managed to get hold of the church warden, she told me that as it was nearly 2 years away there was "no rush". Our venue's wedding coordinators didn't seem to appreciate that answer either.....