The wedding industry sees the festive period as engagement season; December is the most popular month to pop the question.
Did you find an engagement ring in your stocking this Christmas or did you say yes as the clock chimed goodbye to 2018? Many couple’s will have also woken on New Year’s Day with the elation that they would be getting married this year! Many congratulations to you all, this will be a super exciting chapter of your life.
I often get asked what makes the perfect engagement; with the influence of social media and our natural competitiveness, engagements have become an occasion within itself. Couple’s are being more adventurous and the rings and gifts more elaborate. Every day we see stunning engagement images being shared, from couple’s standing under a waterfall to teetering on top of a mountain whilst exchanging huge sparkly rocks. A public declaration to the world of the love you share and commit to is driving our creativeness of the act.
I myself was whisked off to Rome and my partner got down on bended knee on a rooftop overlooking Vatican City and St Peter’s Basilica presenting me with a beautiful bespoke ring. However, we both knew it wasn’t how or where he proposed or whether he even had a ring; I would still have said yes. My parents’ story is one of true love, a relationship and marriage built on love, respect, friendship, trust and working hard. I love their engagement story; living at opposite ends of the town, my Dad would take my Mam home on the bus then make the return journey home. They met at 18 on a night out and 8 months later my Dad popped the question. Sat on the No.6 bus and with no ring my Dad asked my Mam to marry him and of course she said yes. My Mother has since had several engagement rings, due to her clumsiness ha-ha but I am super proud that in 2019 and five grandchildren later they will celebrate their 43 years of marriage! Exactly what perfect engagements are made of.
The perfect engagement should be all about you. As a wedding planner I design weddings that are unique to the individual couple. Both should absolutely reflect you, as a couple and as individuals whether it’s sat on the back of a bus or exploring the coral reef. Here in the North East we are blessed with such a beautiful region with lots of amazing opportunities for loved up couples to make special memories; a perfect Geordie spot to express your love would be on top of Newcastle Castle overlooking our iconic bridges. Whether you choose to seal with a ring or a special gift we are fortunate that our High Streets boost many independent jewellers providing that personal touch such as Dytham Jewellery Design who offer a bespoke design service enabling a couple to create a symbol as unique as the love you share.
For me, the perfect engagement is that you will be celebrating your story for many, many years and as we say in our wedding vows ‘until death do you part’.
