It was July 28, 2002.
We had just come from a basketball game. Traffic was terrible, but it didn’t really matter that much to the two of us. We were to celebrate our 1st month anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend in two days, so you could say that we were relishing every moment we were having together, no matter how annoying a situation would be under more “normal” circumstances, i.e. Manila traffic.
We had met only two months before, in May. We became good friends. And while the situations then weren’t ideal, fate stepped in and we became boyfriend-girlfriend by the end of June.
So there we were, on a July day, in his car, stuck in traffic. I don’t remember what we were talking about. I just remember that he suddenly began talking about us, about our relationship. He started telling me how sure he was of our togetherness, and I echoed him in this. Despite the short time we have known each other, it seemed like we had known each other for ages.
My friends would ask me many times after our announcement. “How did you know?”
I would always reply, “You just do.”
The traffic was expectedly terrible, but the tension in the car took a turn for the unexpected. H looked at me, gazed deep into my eyes and asked, “Will you marry me?”
Too soon, too soon, I thought. So right, so right, another voice whispered. The practical side of me was kicking me in the shins, the romantic throwing petals in the air. What do I do? What do I say? That this is all too fast? That I am too young?
I closed my eyes and listened to my heart. Yes, it whispered.
“Yes,” I answered.
We both smiled and shared a kiss. It was right. So right.
The ring, you ask? There was no ring. Not yet. The ring followed in a few hours, a silver band with two criss-crossed lines. To symbolize how both our lives are intertwined, he said. A ring engraved with the words “Marry Me Toni” on its inside. A ring I wore proudly, still wear happily.
But where is the diamond?, someone asked.
Oh, just a band, someone scoffed.
It is a ring that suits her, my sister said. It is a ring that shines with her personality, her character. It is who she is.
I smiled at her, relieved someone finally understood.
Simple and sweet, that is how we started out. Simple and sweet, that was our engagement. Simple and sweet, that was our wedding, in May 2003, held one year after we had met.
This is the lesson: Trust your heart.
There will always be suspicions.
Too fast, too soon, some family warned.
I can’t be happy for you, a friend said in honesty.
It hurt. Very much. But we stood firm in our love for each other.
Remember this: trust your instincts, trust your heart. The practical will always make sense. But in love there is no logic. This is why it makes it so hard to comprehend, but the joy and peace love brings outweighs reason.
We are celebrating our 5th year of marriage next year. H & I, we still hold hands. We still gaze into each other’s eyes the way we did one month into our relationship, that random July day, that day with the traffic jam. Simple and sweet, that is how we are, and I would not trade it for anything grander or sweeter.
This is right, so right. As it was on the day that we met, on the day we were engaged, on the day we were one.
This is my entry to the Marriage Proposal Blog Carnival, deadline extended till Dec. 15. Share your proposal stories (or dream proposal stories)!
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.
Daphne
December 7, 2007 at 3:31 pm (16 years ago)Toni, It was nice to read about your marriage proposal.
I couldn’t participate in this blog carnival because there wasn’t any proposal lol. He just brought up the M word one day, I kept ignoring it. Until I softened up and decided alright let’s go for it. We eventually told my parents and voila I am now presently stuck in an emotional rollercoaster as we get things ready for our May 2008 nuptials.
There was no proposal, no getting down on one knee, no engagement ring, no grand party announcing our engagement but I’m happy and I’m looking forward to starting a new chapter in my colorful life.
renin
December 7, 2007 at 4:38 pm (16 years ago)Wow! ^_^ its such a nice wedding proposal…its nicer to know that your everydays are sweeter than the one that past.
mari
December 7, 2007 at 11:58 pm (16 years ago)nice story, toni.
i agree with you in trusting one’s instincts. for me, there’s always a battle between the heart and the head when it comes to relationships. however, once i allow myself to feel and yes, trust my heart, everything falls in the right places.
JO
December 8, 2007 at 5:03 am (16 years ago)wow! you wrote it sooo beautifully!
mamajo
December 8, 2007 at 12:24 pm (16 years ago)one word: KILIG!
and di pala ako nag-iisa…whirlwind romance din kami ni hubby ko, and up to this day, nagbobolahan pa rin kami 😛
cbs
December 8, 2007 at 7:37 pm (16 years ago)napaka-romantiko pala ni sir, bukod sa napaka-swerte. meron din akong alam na true wedding proposal story pero di pwedeng isali sa karnabal kasi miserable. may magsyota na nag-decide mag-bungee jump sa oregon (yata) although lingid kay babae, binalak ni lalaki mag-propose at the exact moment of their drop-down (wala kasing drop-up). that fateful day na tumalon sila, sabi ni lalaki, will you marry me, my love? sagot ni babae, noooooooooo! labo, isip ni lalaki sa kanyang pagkabasted. he learned later na nalagot pala ang tali ni babae kaya in the end walang marriage na naganap kasi nahati ang ulo nito sa dalawa (or tatlo pa yata?) kaya moral lesson sa kalalakihan, your marriage proposal can be dangerous to your (or someone else’s) health. careful careful.
spanx
December 8, 2007 at 8:11 pm (16 years ago)dear ate toni,
i’ve been stuck with various girlfriends in traffic so many times.
but how come instead of spontaneous love,
we end up in spontaneous fights?
sana po ay matulungan niyo ako, at mabigyan din ako ng payo ni “H”.
napaka-inspiring po ng kuwento ng inyong pag-ibig.
ang inyong tagasubaybay,
ramon enriquez
p.s. siguro po, pagawa ko na yung aircon ko sa kotse?
spanx
December 8, 2007 at 8:13 pm (16 years ago)toni!
just finished watching the final episodes of The Office S.3,
if you haven’t downloaded/seen them yet,
i can give you the dibidi “,)
Leah
December 9, 2007 at 12:43 pm (16 years ago)What a beautiful story Toni. This is so inspiring.
I have more days to think through …I’ll let you know.
sha
December 10, 2007 at 11:00 am (16 years ago)how sweet.. no need of diamonds
dhanggit
December 12, 2007 at 12:35 am (16 years ago)i’ve been busy the past days its only now i had the time to read your lovely proposal story
better late than never
Meeya
December 12, 2007 at 1:45 am (16 years ago)toni, ang sweet!
uy sali ako sa whirlwind niyo ni mamajo. 
hubby and i also met just two months before we became enagaged. you’re right about trusting your instincts. you just know lang eh, di ba? so heto, nagbobolahan pa rin kami, hehe! 
lady cess
December 13, 2007 at 7:33 am (16 years ago)a kilig sigh from me… i can so relate with this, so i’m sending an entry too. glad to know it’s extended
Lissa
December 14, 2007 at 2:58 am (16 years ago)I like your wedding proposal–too cute!! Ours was a simple one too, medyo similar nga sa inyo and I had to smile. Sometimes I wish for a grand proposal, complete with a nice restaurants, some flowers, chocolate and a big hunk of diamond but in a way, I like the simpler way he just blurted it out.
I have to admit Toni, when you told me that you didn’t know him for that long and you were marrying him, I was surprised too. Pero inisip ko na you’re one of the most level-headed people I know and I’m sure you know what you’re doing. I’m so happy for you and your hubby. You truly are meant for each other. 😀
munchkin mommy
December 14, 2007 at 3:08 pm (16 years ago)awwww! you told your proposal story so beautifully! had i been gifted with the talent to play with words, i wouldn’t have second thoughts about joining the marriage proposal carnival. hahaha! because thinking about it now, i haven’t ever told our proposal story in writing because i’ve always thought there’s nothing spectacular to tell. hee hee!
des
December 19, 2007 at 10:41 am (16 years ago)Thats so sweet. I’d like to have a moment like that. too soon yet too right.
Aileen Apolo
December 21, 2007 at 10:58 pm (16 years ago)“You just know.”
Ahhh… now I understand what my married friends meant by those three words. It is heart-warming to know that it really doesn’t take long for you to know. When you find the right one… you just really know =)