Frances and Laurence Real Engagement Story

I first met Laurence in the summer of ’98 at the district picnic of a social club that we both belong to – and virtually the first thing he said to me was "Oh, by the way, I’m gay" – him being a little way out ‘n’ all! Unfortunately for him, I believed him implicitly, and it took him five months to convince me to even go out with him!!

When I did start going out with him, I realised how special he was, loving caring and a gorgeous "chunky rugby stud". We realised very early on that the relationship was going to last and that we were virtually made for each other, although we waited until Easter weekend this year before putting any plans into action.

At the time, Laurence was very crafty. I knew that engagement would happen at some stage so I kept pointing rings that I liked out to Laurence (not that I’m fussy about jewellery, but..!) and left it at that.

Then, one day, Laurence rang me and formally invited me out to dinner, asking me to wear "something nice". I smelled a rat, but having discussed it with Laurence, he assured me that it was just because we hadn’t been out to dinner for a while.

That Saturday, after an afternoon out (there not having been a rugby match that afternoon) Laurence changed into a suit (which was unusual for him) and was very quiet (very unusual for him!!). He drove us to the restaurant (overshooting a red light and junction on the way!) and when we arrived, asked to be seated at a "secluded" table. The waiter being Italian, this meant, we got a table which was visible to all the other diners! Throughout the starter and main course, I seemed to be chatting for two, and Laurence was virtually silent, although he claimed it was just because he was tired after the afternoon out. When the waiter came to ask if we wanted desserts, Laurence asked him to wait a couple of minutes and came out with the following legend (on bended knee, of course!):

"There comes a time in every man’s life……blah, blah, blah…….will you marry me!"

And that is how we got engaged – and we’ve both been walking on air ever since! The wedding is set for 30 June next year, we’ve just put an offer in on a house, and I couldn’t be happier – sorry it took such a long time to tell, but I feel that the beauty of the proposal is in the details!