The proposal

So far I have told you all about our wedding day, but I've not yet told you how we arrived there!

February 24th 2011 was the day of the teacher strikes, which meant I had a day off from teaching and Stuart was given the option of having a day off work or meeting the Queen - he took a day off so we could spend a bit of extra time together.

We made plans to visit Leeds Castle and spend the day walking around, enjoying a picnic before returning home. Now, I love a castle and was excited to get the day started as quickly as possible, Stuart however had other ideas! After an early morning 5 mile run he announced that he had to head to Bluewater Shopping Centre to run some last minute errands, and would I mind staying at home and preparing the picnic? I was more than happy to do this - I love preparing a picnic and have a tendency to go completely over the top - however when Stuart rang an hour later to say he was heading home but would have to head back to Bluewater a little later my good mood started to fade. An hour later I found myself wandering around TopShop whilst Stuart had disappeared, again, I had lost all interest in a day out and was fully prepared to go home, watch a DVD and enjoy a carpet picnic, luckily (for me) Stuart convinced me we should head on out. 

Now normally we are a very tactile couple, always holding hands and larking about, the walk around the grounds of the castle couldn't have been more different. Stuart jumped whenever I touched his arm and barely looked at me, I later discovered this was because he was desperately keeping hold of the ring but at the time I was convinced that my earlier bad mood had dampened the day and that he was rushing around so that we could get home. 

I don't have a huge amount to say about the castle - the grounds are absolutely incredible and I would recommend a visit just to enjoy the gardens, birds, peacocks, swans, the maze and the beautiful flowers, however as incredible as the castle looked from the outside, inside it was all too much like being on a school trip - rather than being able to wander around at your own pace and see the things you wanted to, you had to follow a preplanned route, having experienced Dover Castle a few weeks previously I have to say I was left underwhelmed by Leeds Castle itself.

By the time we got to the gardens I was convinced that Stuart was probably close to breaking up with me, conversation was limited and he seemed distant, rounding a corner though he pulled me in for  hug, then over looking the lake he went down on one knee and asked me to marry him, rather than saying yes I made a noise akin to this! The ring he had designed was perfect and very me, even now whenever I catch a glimpse of it it makes me smile. After telling everyone I could think of and returning back to our usual tactile selves we enjoyed a picnic and left Leeds Castle with very happy memories.