Friday, September 11, 2015

Olivia will you....?

My poor blog has been neglected so far this year but soon you will realise why...its been a long ten months without a post and for that I apologise! Hopefully news this will make up for it...

They say in life there are moments where the world stands still. Where time seems to freeze and all that matters is what is happening right in front of your eyes. My world stopped on 05/01/15 at 8.30pm on the West Coast of the North Island in a beautiful little beach town called Raglan. Rewind to twelve hours earlier, Dan and I had packed up our car and had just begun our road trip up North. In typical Dan style just as we had left home he remembers he forgot to grab his backpack. Thinking it only had our beach towels in it I was reluctant to go back to collect it. After some persuading and a worried look on Dan’s face I turned around and we went and grabbed the backpack...thankfully I was still oblivious to what was going on.

In my little world the most life changing event of the day was driving safely along the winding coastal roads to Raglan. Little did I know as Dan sat next to me what he was planning in his head. There was a sense of freedom and ease that both of us had been longing to feel. To be able to get away from life’s mundane routines and truly enjoy each other’s company.  Dan had me laughing majority of the way especially with his singing and dancing to Bruno Marz Uptown Funk. 

Thankfully with some informative directions (thanks Dad!) we managed to find out way to Raglan with our relationship unscathed. 
After unpacking our gear and settling into our accommodation we decided to do some exploring. Dan suggested we go out somewhere nice for dinner he even picked out my dress for me to wear. Still I had not a single clue what was ahead of me. We dined on steak and venison and looked out over the river mouth. Already my heart was so blissful and content.  Dan refused me paying in any way towards dinner as this was his treat.

After a long day of driving I was quiet happy to go back to our room but Dan insisted we sit and watch the sunset from the look out. The view was stunning as the sunset over the beach. The perfect mix of clear blue sea and warming yellow light. In that moment I felt so blessed. It was perfect.

Dan's next idea was that we should go for a swim before it got dark. After being told I needed to be spontaneous (almost ruined his plans again!) I agreed and before I knew it we were diving into the crisp blue cold water. There was hardly anyone on the beach apart from a few surfers and the sun doing its best to hang around for a little longer.

Warning blog post is about to get really soppy...

Dan you knew that being in water is my favourite place to be. A place where I feel relaxed, joyful and at peace; a lot like the feelings I get when I am in your presence.  You had it all planned out. You called me over to you and asked for a hug.  You began telling me how much you love me and by now my heart was beating incredibly fast. In that moment my hands were covering my mouth as I had finally clicked to what was happening. In the shallow water down on one knee I heard you ask me a question I didn’t even have to think to answer... “Olivia will you marry me?” A one hundred percent ‘YES’ followed by many happy tears was my reply. The happy tears continued long into the night and in all honestly most of  that week!

We then went up to the beach and from your backpack you brought out the ring which had been hiding there all day. Now I understood why the backpack was so important! One thing I had always told Dan was that I wanted him to pick out my ring. To my total amazement the ring that Dan had chosen for me was the one that I would have chosen for myself. The crazy thing is that I had never even told Dan that's the ring I liked. 


Raglan now forever has a very special place in our hearts. I love how Dan managed to get me by complete surprise and how the moment was purely 'ours' to treasure. I still find myself looking down at my engagement ring and am transported back to that breathtaking night.  Fast forward eight months and the planning is well and truly underway. The countdown is now on for the 12th March 2016 when I will become Dan’s wife.  How blessed we are to journey through life together! 






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