how/when did you get engaged

[sharonbertol]

For those married or happily coupled how when did you get engaged?

Today is the 37th anniversary of our engagement. I met my hubby in July 1984. He asked me 2 days after Valentines Day, because right after Christmas he was sent to Navy Legal Training 14 hours away. He didn't get home until late on Feb. 15, so he asked me out the next day. We went to Steak and Ale restaurant and he kneeled and said "It's time this sailor found a home, will you marry me?" My mouth opened in shock and I was at a loss for words. (probably the last time I was!) We married 3 months later. If you want to share anything, let us know. I am always asked why not on the 14th?

[KristinCB]

awww what a sweet proposal!

my husband has always been super lovey dovey and so my proposal was very sweet! I was really young when we got engaged - 19 years old

My parents had an old cabin in the middle of the woods (literally). We got engaged in the winter there.. he took me for a ride on a snowmobile to where he had set up candles on the frozen lake in a heart shape and he proposed to me in the center of the heart. For a wedding present I had a local painter do up a landscape painting of the proposal We got married in 2001.

[jacinda]

Oh, I love these stories.

I met my husband in the Army. We started dating and a week later we knew we'd found 'the one'. He bought an engagement ring 3 months after we met, but didn't propose till a year later, the day before I deployed to East Timor. He took me out to a beach and proposed on a lookout over the water. I was deployed for 5 months and we married 4 months after I got back in April 2000.

[Cherylny]

Happy anniversary!

Ours wasn't very exciting, but I was very happy when I got the proposal. We're in year 40, so I guess it was a good proposal.

[Kimberly27]

Hubby and I have been together for 26 yrs this month, married for almost 20. If you do the math...we dated for 6.5 years before we got married. We met at 17 while juniors in high school. We got engaged on Christmas Eve 2001!(I think...years are fuzzy on that detail. LOL) He took me out riding to look at Christmas lights (a tradition started with my family that I LOVE!). He stopped at the mall where we met but bc it was closed we were run off by security. We left and went to a look out spot over the city and he proposed there. I had no clue and was so excited. My parents knew bc he had asked first so they were anxiously waiting to hear. <3 We got married in July 2002. <3

[Lidia G]

I met my first husband on my birthday, Feb 13, 1984 on a blind date. We were a group of people at the table celebrating my birthday and Valentine's Day. At the end of the evening he asked me for my phone number. The next day he called and asked me on a date to which I said yes. On March 16 he asked me to marry him. I was flabbergasted since we had only known each other for a month! I was so shocked that I blurted out one word - why? to which he replied - because I love you, silly and I want to spend the rest of my life with you! How could I refuse? We married on Sept 22, the same year.

[JoCee]

I met my husband at work, lol! He worked upstairs on a car magazine and I worked downstairs in the art department.

I left the lights on in my car overnight so managed to get a jumpstart at home but knew I would need one later that day to leave work to go back home. As he was working for the car mag I was taken upstairs to ask for help later in the day. There he was!!

ummm... we got engaged 6 weeks later!!!!!!!!!!! I still can't believe I did that!!! But we had a 16month engagement as I think the shock just floored us both. Plus we needed to plan for overseas family to be able to make the wedding (we got married in South Africa).

We just celebrated our 28th anniversary in January and are, thankfully, still happily married. I did tell him that the day he stops making me laugh he is a goner...well.. he's still around, lol.

Plus he gave me the two best children a mother could ask for so....

love hearing everyone's stories xx

[StacyLynn]

I am loving this thread!!

Hubby and I met at my work.... ShopRite... his dad was my boss.

Anyway, we dated about 11 months. Then a couple days after Christmas, he took the day off, and went to visit my Dad at work to ask for my hand. My dad, being the smart ass that he is, said, "don't you want the rest of her too?"

Anyway, we had planned to go roller skating that night with a bunch of family and friends....
and I noticed it was all his family...lol... they already knew what he had planned.

The DJ made an announcement to clear the rink. I sat with my friend Kim joking and saying "what does a zamboni come out and clean like on an ice rink?"

A few minutes later, the DJ says for me and Chris's cousin to come out on the rink....so we do.
I'm standing in the middle of the rink, and then Chris comes out and starts singing I Swear by John Michael Montgomery.
I looked to my right and there is his whole family and cameras are going....
Then he grabs a big bouquet of roses from the DJ window, skates over to me, finishes the song and gets down on one knee in roller skates....

I have it on video....hehehehehe

[DivaMom96]

Such a great thread! My partner and I decided to do something untraditional. We exchanged our vows this past November, and he bought me a beautiful commitment ring last month. Both of us were previously married and neither of us want to go through marriage and the legal hassles again. We are a couple.

[joelsgirl]

These are great stories!

Joel and I met at a Christian college when the book, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" was popular, so for a month we joked that we were going to skip dating and just get married. Until at some point we realized we weren't joking and that we already were dating!

He proposed a year later on Christmas Eve. He was pastoring a small church in the country, and we went there in his mom's car. So when one of the deacons drove by and didn't recognize the car, he busted in (right in the middle of the proposal!) with his gun!

Joel had cards written in caligraphy with ten reasons he loved me, and he had hidden the cards with a gift throughout the church. There was a scavenger hunt to find each card/gift, and the last one was in the Bible in the pulpit in the sanctuary, and it said, "Because you are the one God has for me." and when I turned around, he was down on one knee.

[tjscraps]

I'm loving all these stories!!!

I met Hubby in summer 2004 - online. We met in person and were long distance, so we met up a few times in a couple months, then started trying to see each other every couple weeks despite a 6 hour drive between us. That Christmas he quite his job and moved in with me a month later (Feb). In May he proposed - well, sorta. I didn't let him get the words out, he got the ring out and before he could say anything I jumped on him and said yes. That was May 2005 - we got married June 2006.

[rach3975]

DH and I met in college, so we dated for 3 years before I graduated. We knew we were heading toward marriage well before an actual proposal--when the time came, we even went ring shopping together! We live near Washington, DC, so one night a few days after we bought the ring he took me out to one of the Presidential monuments right on the water and asked me there.

[knittingbec]

Well... it's always dangerous (for my husband, haha) when I read these stories

He was stationed in Korea & we were planning for me to visit over spring break from my teaching job. It was summertime and I was working at a summer camp. I called him during my free time/his lunch break and he said, "I've got bad news and good news..." Bad news was I wouldn't be able to spend the week with him in Korea & he had to report to his dorm by a certain time so we couldn't just stay in a hotel or something, so I wouldn't be able to visit without a military dependent ID. "But the good news is you'd be able to stay if you had an ID. So... you want to get married or what?"
LOL, the FedEx man brought me a ring a month later

That was July 2004, and we got married that December so there would be time to get me listed on his orders for his next base. He went back to Korea a week and a half after we got married, I visited with my new dependent ID card over spring break, and we moved together to his new base in Japan in June.

[cherrygutz]

I love "I Kissed Dating Goodbye!" Whenever I have a friend who will celebrate her 18th bday, this is what I always gift them.

Originally Posted by joelsgirl

These are great stories!

Joel and I met at a Christian college when the book, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" was popular, so for a month we joked that we were going to skip dating and just get married. Until at some point we realized we weren't joking and that we already were dating!

[lovely1m]

Oh, I love this whole thread. So much love.

On our 4th dating anniversary, my husband was on call for work, so we were celebrating simply at home. I was making a from-scratch pizza and had just finished the crust. I was wearing sweats and covered in flour. He asked if we could exchange presents quickly. So I went into the living room and he handed me a card and an empty box to open. When I got the box opened, he went down on one knee and asked me. Turns out he had talked to my friends and my family over a year before about it but waited until he found the right ring and had it paid off first. It was simple but sweet. Our 3rd wedding anniversary is next month.

[Dalis]

I really want to tell you the story about it all. I am TERRIBLE, and when I say TERRIBLE, I mean AWFUL with dates. I don't remember the date when we got engaged or when we got married it was either the 13 or the 14th of I think June. Now, on the other hand hubby remembers it all, the day of our first date. Seriously, he impresses me w/ dates, me not so much. I have had to put insurance people on hold to call hubby and ask him for his birthday. YEP!

[mirjam]

What a wonderful thread!!!
Gurt and I met through music. He played bass guitar in a band where I was asked to come and sing (not that I am a good singer).
We had tons of fun and totally started off as friends and then after 1,5 year. don't know why or how, but we finally gave each other a better look and fell in love.
After being together for 15 years we decided to buy a house and that's when we also decided to get married. It may sound mostly pragmatic, which in a way it was but it was also a very romantic time. We very consciously made the decision and were convinced we would spend the rest of our lives together.
That was a little over 7 years ago. February 23rd we mark our 23 years of being together and August 26 we will be married for 8 years.

[KingsQueen82]

My story isn't nearly as sweet as these but it makes me laugh so here it is anyway! It was some random weekend in August 2005 when the hubs and I went to the mall b/c the JCPenny was closing down. I was dreaming of cute skirts and shopping the shoe dept. but as we were riding down the escalator that just happened to face the jewelry department I noticed the signs that said "60% off" (or whatever it was, I can't even remember). I made a joke "Hey honey the jewerly is x% off...." and he said you wanna go to the mall? The other (better) mall. I don't even remember if we DID look at the JCPenny's sale but we ended up at a different jewelry store looking at engagement rings. To make a long story short, after only a few minutes there I had picked out the one I wanted. As soon as the associate left the counter to start ringing us up I turned to my hubs and said "Did we just get engaged?!" Lol... and that's it. No big pomp and circumstance. He told me later that he had already been looking at rings and planned to ask me within a couple months anyway. We got engaged after dating just 2 months, married after 13 months and this year we celebrate our 16th anniversary.

On a side note, last month I had my wedding ring re-done to something that's completely me instead of a regular diamond ring. Diamonds are beautiful in their own right but I always wonder why we spent so much money on something so color-less when I am so drawn to color. I alway wished I'd gotten a pink sapphire or an amethyst b/c those are my favorite colors - not clear white. I think I just did because that's just what people do -- wear diamonds in their wedding rings. But I don't want to be like other people -- I want to be like me! So, I commissioned a "rainbow ring" instead. I kept the center diamond for sentimental reasons (though I joke to hubs I need a bigger one now!) and surrounded it in colorful happiness. I had the 4 outside diamonds of my wedding ring turned into earrings for my girls one day when they're more mature and won't lose them! Because I love it so much I'm gonna share the pic with you guys (I can't seem to get a clear photo/better light but you get the idea!) It brings me so much joy!



So on that note, I'll leave off my story and request pics of anyone who'd like to share their rings (or other special jewelry) too?! I think it'd be fun to see people's personalities through their jewelry!

[jaye]

what wonderful stories and such a beautiful ring Cassie!

[StacyLynn]

So on my finger is three rings. My original wedding band (bottom) my engagement ring and my 10 year anniversary ring ( because I couldn’t fit in my original rings cause pregnant nursing pregnant nursing …. 4kiddos) Then I was finally able to get them all back on a few years after that. But then (2011) needed hand surgery and I had regained a bunch of weight and they had to be cut off.

So this year for Christmas I told my hubby I wanted my rings fixed so we went and did it. (especially since this May we celebrate our 25 year wedding anniversary) They basically had to rebuild my engagement ring from the damage of been cut and bent. I also had them soldered together.

And today I got my nails (my regular treat to myself now that I’ve lost 75 pounds) done so the pic was to show my girls the color cause they always ask me what color I’m getting lol.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[StacyLynn]

Originally Posted by KingsQueen82

My story isn't nearly as sweet as these but it makes me laugh so here it is anyway! It was some random weekend in August 2005 when the hubs and I went to the mall b/c the JCPenny was closing down. I was dreaming of cute skirts and shopping the shoe dept. but as we were riding down the escalator that just happened to face the jewelry department I noticed the signs that said "60% off" (or whatever it was, I can't even remember). I made a joke "Hey honey the jewerly is x% off...." and he said you wanna go to the mall? The other (better) mall. I don't even remember if we DID look at the JCPenny's sale but we ended up at a different jewelry store looking at engagement rings. To make a long story short, after only a few minutes there I had picked out the one I wanted. As soon as the associate left the counter to start ringing us up I turned to my hubs and said "Did we just get engaged?!" Lol... and that's it. No big pomp and circumstance. He told me later that he had already been looking at rings and planned to ask me within a couple months anyway. We got engaged after dating just 2 months, married after 13 months and this year we celebrate our 16th anniversary.

On a side note, last month I had my wedding ring re-done to something that's completely me instead of a regular diamond ring. Diamonds are beautiful in their own right but I always wonder why we spent so much money on something so color-less when I am so drawn to color. I alway wished I'd gotten a pink sapphire or an amethyst b/c those are my favorite colors - not clear white. I think I just did because that's just what people do -- wear diamonds in their wedding rings. But I don't want to be like other people -- I want to be like me! So, I commissioned a "rainbow ring" instead. I kept the center diamond for sentimental reasons (though I joke to hubs I need a bigger one now!) and surrounded it in colorful happiness. I had the 4 outside diamonds of my wedding ring turned into earrings for my girls one day when they're more mature and won't lose them! Because I love it so much I'm gonna share the pic with you guys (I can't seem to get a clear photo/better light but you get the idea!) It brings me so much joy!



So on that note, I'll leave off my story and request pics of anyone who'd like to share their rings (or other special jewelry) too?! I think it'd be fun to see people's personalities through their jewelry!

Your ring is beautiful!!!!!

[sharonbertol]

Originally Posted by KristinCB

awww what a sweet proposal!

my husband has always been super lovey dovey and so my proposal was very sweet! I was really young when we got engaged - 19 years old

My parents had an old cabin in the middle of the woods (literally). We got engaged in the winter there.. he took me for a ride on a snowmobile to where he had set up candles on the frozen lake in a heart shape and he proposed to me in the center of the heart. For a wedding present I had a local painter do up a landscape painting of the proposal We got married in 2001.

Oh how romantic!!! What a wonderful sentiment!

[MamaBee]

Aww… love all the stories.

I met my hubby online when yahoo personal were a thing… my mom pushed me to do it, she had a feeling it would work out. My now hubby answered my ad in May… ghost me all summer (which I still tease him about. He was actually working in Italy at that summer). He asked me out to meet on Sept 4, 2002. He wasn’t looking for anything, just wanted someone “to get stupid with,” he is a part time radio dj and always had concerts and other events to work. Closing in on a year of our first date, I joked that we should get married on a sept 4… bring it was the anniversary of our first date. He agreed… but he didn’t realized that because of leap year, it lined up to 2004 the 4th would fall on a Saturday. Haha in November my mom found out she had breast cancer and they were going to do surgery on Veterans Day. Dave was involved in Amway and he told me there was a weekend meeting in Milwaukee (2 hrs from where we live). I loathes these events, but agreed to go, on the way down he told me there wasn’t a meeting but thought with the stress of my mom’s surgery that I could use a get away. He booked one of the two five star hotels in the state and we ate in a swanky restaurant and back at the hotel he proposed. Well… kind of… he got in his knee and started crying.. all I heard was, “you wanna?” (Another thing I tease him about)… and Sept 4, 2004 we were married. My mom ended chemo in June before. My mom jokes that she would do anything for me… even get cancer to make that boy propose. Haha ��

[AmieN1]

We had dated for a LONG time- almost 5 years before we got engaged! We had gone ring shopping and I knew it was coming soon. On Christmas Eve, we opened our gifts to eachother so we could go to our family's on Christmas morning. I had a giant box, when I opened it, I had another slightly smaller wrapped box and so on & so on. Eventually there was a big ball of hockey tape! lol After painstakingly unrolling the tape ball, the ring box was inside. He was on his knee watching (which I didn't even think about until I got to the ring!) It was so fun!

[Ferdy]

such a beautiful thread, loving all the stories!

mine will be short, because English is not my mother language....there's a small town in the countryside that I always wanted to visit, it's formed by Dutch immigrants and it's really romantic! So we went there on a holiday, and there's a bridge at this town where couples put locks on the bridge, we planned to go there, but I had no idea he was going to get down on his knees and propose! It's been almos 3 years and we live together....marriage is in our plans but then covid happened, and well...life is good this way!!

[mcurtt]

Getting engaged was not an earth-shattering experience. I rather expected it. I knew he was buying a ring. We talked about it, etc. etc. so no real surprise. It was either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day when I got that little box with the ring inside.

However, we do celebrate the anniversary of our first date. And believe it or not, today is the 50th anniversary of it. OMG! Where did that time go? Back in 1972, we were all financially poor college students. He had me and my roommate & her boyfriend over for Chef Boyardee pizza in a box and brownies (also from a box). I remember being blown away by his baking skills as mine were non-existent. LOL. While I don't eat grains anymore, we are eating a cauliflower crust pizza tonight along with almond flour brownies that we baked this afternoon. Traditions. :-)

[KingsQueen82]

First, congratulations on the weight loss! And how wonderful that you recognize the hard work and reward yourself! Your nails are so cute! I bit my nails for 38 years (or whenever I started in toddlerhood) but I got braces in 2020 and it hurt too much so that bad habit is finally broken! I'm still too nervous/embarrassed to go to a nail salon but maybe someday! Second, your ring is super close to my mom's but hers doesn't have the diamonds around the engagement ring. It's a very pretty touch! Thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by StacyLynn

So on my finger is three rings. My original wedding band (bottom) my engagement ring and my 10 year anniversary ring ( because I couldn’t fit in my original rings cause pregnant nursing pregnant nursing …. 4kiddos) Then I was finally able to get them all back on a few years after that. But then (2011) needed hand surgery and I had regained a bunch of weight and they had to be cut off.

So this year for Christmas I told my hubby I wanted my rings fixed so we went and did it. (especially since this May we celebrate our 25 year wedding anniversary) They basically had to rebuild my engagement ring from the damage of been cut and bent. I also had them soldered together.

And today I got my nails (my regular treat to myself now that I’ve lost 75 pounds) done so the pic was to show my girls the color cause they always ask me what color I’m getting lol.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sherri Tierney]

Our proposal was nothing fancy, but we have a crazy story!

I met my husband my sophomore (his freshman) year of high school. He was the friend of my friend's little brother. We had a computer class together and he was always causing trouble. He pushed the teacher a little too far and got moved to the front in the only open computer, right next to me. I happened to be seeing a guy with the same name and was using Paint to draw doodled hearts and write 'Sherri loves Sean'. He was moved that same day and the first thing he did was lean over and say "Oh, you love me, do you?".

Its a long story, but by the end of my senior year we had become casual friends. I moved away after graduation. We kept in touch via snail mail and the occasional phone call until he graduated a year later. We lost touch for several months. I went back home for a friend's wedding. He was at the wedding. He was engaged. Within a week he was no longer engaged. I flew home October 1st. He moved to Kansas October 30th and we moved in together. We were engaged 2 years later on the anniversary of the first date we had in Arizona. 20 months later we got married. We have been married for almost 24 years now.

Rings - my engagement ring was a dainty solitaire with a tiny diamond. We bought a wrap from a pawn shop to fit it for the wedding band. The wrap broke a few years after the wedding and the solitaire scratched my daughter when she was a newborn so I stopped wearing it. All these years later (daughter will be 20 this summer), I still don't have a replacement. The ring that I tend to wear most was one my husband gave me, but is not a wedding ring. I love it though. Ignore my wrinkled hands. It was SO cold that day and my hands were shriveled and dry. I took the picture to show my daughter the nail color I chose.