Phil and I had been together for more than 5 years when he decided one Easter to take me away for the weekend. He normally works weekends but had arranged to leave work at three o’clock that Easter Saturday. I didn’t know much more than this however. He wouldn’t tell me anything about it except that we would be spending Saturday night at his parents (who were away on holiday), would be going to a restaurant on Saturday night, and going somewhere else on Sunday. On the Saturday morning he had told me to pack certain outdoor clothing items, so I collected some stuff together and loaded up the car in preparation for our departure. I was intrigued by all the mystery but didn’t suspect anything, purely because I harboured high hopes for our forthcoming trip to New York, which was planned for just a few weeks later.
Phil insisted on driving. We live in Aberystwyth in mid Wales, and his parents live closer to Swansea so the journey is between one and a half and two hours. En route, Phil explained that he wanted to show me something before we got to his parents, hence his insistence that I hadn’t dressed for the meal before we left Aber. At Carmarthen, we took a detour down a route I had never gone before. After a few wrong turns and backtracking (with hindsight I realised Phil was a bit nervous and acting strange) we finally arrived at Carreg Cennen castle, a partially ruined castle perched atop a high cliff overlooking the surrounding valley. We arrived at about six o’clock in the evening, just as the daylight was starting to fade to dusk. The climb up to the castle was quite energetic and on arrival at the top, I noticed that there were only a couple of other people up there. We wandered around the castle for a bit before finding ourselves in front of one of the windows above the cliff, with a spectacular view. At this moment, Phil turned to me and asked if I was cold. I wasn’t, and was a little surprised by the question. Phil then took my left hand and said "Not even this finger" indicating my ring finger. I should have clicked then but instead I just thought he was being silly. Phil responded by taking hold of his commitment ring (we had given them to each other a few years previously and Phil had been wearing his on a cord around his neck), snapped the cord and asked if I would marry him. I was completely taken by surprise and said yes immediately. He then put his commitment ring on my finger and said that he thought it best if we chose the engagement ring together.
Phil’s proposal, in this beautiful setting, was incredibly romantic. We left some time later, and headed to Phil’s parents house to find Easter and Engagement cards waiting for us, which we opened before we left to dine at a lovely local restaurant that night. The whole trip was a complete surprise…we both had a fantastic engagement weekend and are really looking forward to our winter wedding in January 2005!
