Well, it all began on our anniversary, it was our second year together, November 27th 1999. We decided to celebrate in style (any excuse) and booked a night in the Tower Thistle Hotel.
We got the train up to London and I thought it was a little strange the way Luke was guarding his bag so intently, we had packed a bottle of bubbly for later, but even so – you would have thought he had the Crown Jewels in there!
Anyway, after being shown to our room, Luke produced a large gift-wrapped box from his bag, which he placed on the bed. He told me that it was a surprise, which I wasn’t allowed to open until we were ready for dinner later on that night (We had booked ourselves a table in the hotel’s restaurant – very posh I must say!!).
After that, we went out for a day of Christmas shopping. It was going to be our first Christmas living together and we were both so excited. I must admit, I didn’t really think much about the surprise gift for the rest of the day – but boy, was I going to be in for a shock!
Finally, we were washed, dressed and ready for our romantic meal. Luke handed me the gift. By this time, I must admit I was a bit curious. What could possibly be in a box that large? I carefully untied the gold ribbon and removed the paper to find a plain navy-blue box. When I lifted the lid, there was the cutest teddy bear looking up at me, dressed in a Santa’s outfit. I thought it was a really lovely present and how lucky I was to be with such a sweet man. Then, Luke told me to take a closer look. Underneath the Santa outfit, on the front of the bear, was a zip and Luke told me to open it. I slowly unzipped the bear and there, inside, was the most beautiful diamond ring ever, staring up at me. He asked me to marry him and I, of course, said yes and then promptly burst into tears.
Finally, after having to re-do all my makeup, we went down for dinner. Actually, I think it would be safe to say that I ‘floated’ down to dinner. Our table was overlooking Tower Bridge, we toasted ourselves with champagne and everything was perfect.
We are planning to get married 25 August 2001 and I just can’t wait! The engagement bear now takes pride of place on our bed and I must say it’s the best bear I’ve ever been given…I wonder why!!
