04/07/2021
Dina & Esha's Proposal Story 🍾💍
Dina's Version:
"I may have badgered him a fair bit but he was determined that if it was going to happen, he would propose. We had a huge fight about it once actually when he told me (I think it was 4 or 5 years into our relationship) that he didn't see us getting married. I was soooo upset but, after a day of crying, I realised it was ok. I didn't have to get married because I was already with the man I loved and I would cherish being with him for however long it lasted.
That being said, a small part of me had an inkling he was going to propose when we were in Mexico last year... but he didn't. So, I made my peace that it wouldn't happen and moved on. Then, on our 6th year anniversary, he took me to a little cottage in Daylesford with the cat and the dog for a weekend away. We packed up the PlayStation, curled up by the fire whilst it rained outside, and played video games. At one point, he had us stop playing video games so we could sit by the fire with a cup of tea. I was a little confused as to why we couldn't just sit with the tea and continue playing games but decided it was sweet so.. ok then.
That's when he opened up he had to reveal a ring I had seen in Mexico. I was so shocked and said yes without even thinking. the memory makes me glow like the first time he told me he loved me."
Esha's Version:
"I proposed, but it took me two tries.
I had decided probably 24 months before I proposed that Dina was the one that I would marry, but I never got around to doing it, as I wanted her to have a special romantic proposal with an amazing ring, and we were never in a financial position for us to get her the ring she deserved.
At a friend's wedding, we were both quite drunk, and she had said that she didn't want me to wait for something special, and just to hurry up and bloody do it. At this time it is alleged that I told everyone that I would propose in Mexico on our upcoming trip (May 2019).
All of our friends were quite happy to remind me of this, so it seemed like a good time to do it.
We planned out the trip, and conveniently we were spending a couple of nights in the highlands where there were amazing local silver artisans, in an area that was known for its Jewellery. I decided to buy something here, and so booked in romantic lakeside glamping for the following night.
We went browsing all of the shops, and while we were there I got Dina to try on some various Jewellery (necklaces/rings, etc) just to see what she liked. She tried on a ring that she loved, then we "decided not to get it" as it was too expensive. Dina is really good at napping, so after this, she decided she needed to do just this, which gave me a perfect opportunity to sneak out.
The idea of buying a ring still terrified me, so I actually walked past the Jewellery shop 4 times like a creep, before the owner spotted me and yelled at me to come in. He'd already told Dina that he rips off white people, but that she got Latina prices, so I now had to convince him to give me the Latino prices. We managed to get the price down to a similar discount that Dina would have gotten (though he then jacked it back up due to 'currency conversion costs') but was good enough. I was 99% certain I had picked the same ring that Dina had tried on previously and loved. They kept giving me Tequila shots during the whole purchase, and there is a small chance that this may have affected my ability to correctly identify the ring.
I hid the ring in my suitcase and we went on our way to the next town, with Dina none the wise. We were about to arrive at Lake Bacalar (7 coloured lake) where we had booked the glamping site. The lake was absolutely stunning, and I was confident that it would be a romantic location. We drove along the stunning lakeside and could see a number of beautiful houses and hotels along the waterfront.... We then pulled up to our accommodation. While from the outside it looked OK, and there was in fact a waterfront glamping tent, there were a couple of logistical differences they failed to mention.
1. Their version of a king-sized glamping tent was very different from mine. I couldn't stand up inside, and my legs hung over the end of the at best double bed.
2. The romantic accommodation was actually a mid-market hostel, with most of the guests' young American backpackers who shared cabins, which is fine, but not what I had in mind for a proposal.
3. The waterfront tent was located right next to the watersports area for the hostel - anyone who wanted to use a kayak, go fishing, go swimming had to walk 2m from the front of our tent. The hostel bar was 5m from the front of our tent. A secluded and romantic beachside getaway it was not.
4. I can't remember the details, but something made Dina really grumpy (she does that). It was something to do with the hostel, and she was ready to speak to the manager and very unhappy with whatever had happened.
Due to all of the above, I decided that it probably wasn't the best spot to propose, and decided to try later on I the trip should the opportunity arise. Unfortunately, there was nothing particularly romantic until we arrived at the location of our friend's wedding, at which point I didn't want to be THAT guy.
As a result, the Mexican proposal was canceled, and so we returned back to Australia without an engagement, but with a ring at least (even if it was the wrong one)
At this point, I decided that it obviously wasn't meant to be to try and do something fancy, so I decided to just do what I thought would make her happy. She's happiest when we are in the country, with the pets, in front of a roaring fire, and with a cup of tea, so I decided as lame as it is, that's how we'd do it.
I booked a weekend away to Daylesford and we took the cat and dog. Dina wasn't feeling particularly well so didn't even want to drink, but I made her a cup of tea and we sat by the fire with the pets and I proposed and she said yes and was happy. Turns out it was the wrong ring and it didn't fit and there's a 5% chance it's fake, but we made it, and now that it's resized it fits perfectly."
