Unsurprisingly, the most popular time of the year for engagements is between now and Valentine’s day.

We’re aware that there is a wealth of information and advice on getting married and we’ve heard countless stories of how he proposed, and more often than not it’s the bride-to-be sharing the story.

We were delighted when David shared his proposal story with us and all of you…

I met Caley in High school when we were both 15 years old and not long after I asked her out on MSN Messenger, not my most romantic moment! Most people I tell our story to are surprised that we met so young and lasted, but those who get to know us together can easily tell why it’s worked.

I had been planning on proposing for a while and knew that our 7 year anniversary would be a good opportunity to take her to Paris for the weekend and pop the question. However, before I could do this I had to ask her Dad’s permission. This was more nerve racking than the proposal itself, but something I knew was essential. Her father was more than happy to give his blessing. Phew!

So with the first yes of the week under my belt I was pretty confident that I could still surprise her after all these years. I knew that the thought of a proposal may be in her head so I made sure to throw her off track when I could.

The most important part to any engagement in my opinion is the ring, and after a few not too subtle hints in the past I knew Caley wanted to pick her own ring. This meant having to buy a cheap proposal ring. This was a real challenge for me, after standing in a shop for half an hour I was glad this wouldn’t be the ring she had to wear everyday!

The final challenge was location. Paris has so many iconic landmarks I knew I couldn’t fail to find somewhere special. Unconventionally I chose Disneyland as we are both huge Disney fans and had visited Florida the year before and loved it. Choosing somewhere which was special to us made it more personal and something I would recommend to anyone thinking about proposing. I knew I wanted to propose in front of the castle but I’d never been before so I was unsure of how to make this a private moment in such a public place. I noticed a secluded viewpoint at the side of the bridge to the castle and led Caley round to take a picture. Then came the easy part, I got down on one knee, pulled out the ring and asked the question I had been wanting to for so long “Will you marry me?”. With an immediate “Yes” all my preparation had came to fruition and now the fun part; we get to plan our wedding.

All in unison “awww!” We love hearing those unique and personal proposal stories.

Thanks David and Caley for sharing your story.

If you want some more tips on how to propose then have a look here.

David Toner (Guest Author)