Our Engagement

Helen and I (as you may surmise, her name is Helen) were vacationing in Nova Scotia, the province from whence she originated. We set aside two days to do the Cabot Trail, and we had a most groovy time. We camped, stopped at every lookout point, and acted all silly and lovey-dovey and such.

Having a strong desire to take a dip in the ocean (something I've wanted to do since I was a wee lad), we stopped at Inverness Beach, which was at the end of our journey as we had looped around the entire trail. This beach is about one mile long, with clear water and smooth sand. Including us there must have been a total of five patrons on the beach at the time (circa 3:00 PM on a Wednesday in late June). After spending about 15 minutes in the mildly chilly water, we then lied on the sand, letting the deliciously warm sun dry us off. Wearing nothing but my Speedo (the boxer-short kind, not the "leave-nothing-to-the-imagination-skimpy-1970s" variety), the conversation drifted off into unchartered territory, with me listing the stuff I wanted to accomplish during 1999 from a personal vantage point. Helen promptly checked off my accomplishments:

Greg: "This year I wanted to meet a nice lady."
Helen: "Check."
Greg: "I wanted to go out with this lady."
Helen: "Check."
Greg: "I wanted to fall in love with this lady."
Helen: "Check."
Greg: "I wanted to propose to this lady."
Helen: (somewhat sadly): "No check."
Greg: "We'd better fix that; Helen, will you marry me?"
Helen: "Are you really asking???"
Greg: "Yes I am."
Helen: "I can't think of anything I'd like better than to marry you."
Greg: "Is that a yes?"
Helen: "YES!!!"

The proposal was somewhat surprising, even to me, since just the previous day I had told her that I had been extremely close to proposing to her during another "moment" on another beach, but I held back since I wanted to wait at least six months prior to proposing. When this second occasion presented itself I just said to myself "To hell with timelines!" and just followed my heart.

It turned out to be a good decision, since she then had a few days to tell all her family about the news in person. Two days later we went "browsing" for an engagement ring in Truro, and she fell in love with a matching engagement/wedding band piece. The engagement ring features a solitaire pear-shaped diamond of superior clarity (VSI? I forget how these ratings work...) and the wedding band has three small diamonds that fit snugly atop the pear. We also had time to look at potential reception sites (we eventually booked the "Truro Convention Centre", which is essentially the local Best Western) and we also booked the church for next August. Helen is currently touring bridal shops, fabric stores (she's adament about making her own dress) and playing around with wedding invitations. All being said, we should have a good bash with about 150 guests.

And from Helen's Journal - Sunday July 4, 1999

to add further details to Greg's story...

"Wow", I thought. It was 4:15. Then we hugged and kissed and I realized we had just agreed to marry each other. "Does it freak you out that you just proposed to me?" I enquired.
"No, I love you, Helen," he said.
"How about if I call you fiance?" I asked.
"Yeah, that freaks me out a bit," he replied.

So we lay there and discussed what had just happened and what our future would hold. I was overjoyed. We then went back to Carol's and eventually told them. I described all the details of our trip - to which Janet got bored and started saying, "Yadda, yadda, yadda..."
"And then he proposed to me," I said.
Only Carol heard.
"Really? Congratulations!" she cried. And Janet and Jamie tried to figure out what was going on as Carol hugged me.
"And you said yes, I hope?" she demanded.
"Yes." I said.
Janet asked what was going on and Carol screamed, "They're engaged, dummy!"
"Cool", I think Janet said.
Then we had a reather lengthy discussion about it and went to bed late that night. The next day we returned home and Mom and Dad were getting ready for a Knights of Columbus banquet. I finally had to tell them before they left. So when all of us were together, I told them - quicker than at Carol's so everyone "got it". Mom hugged us both at once. She got all excited for me. It was fun. Then she didn't want to go to the supper anymore but Dad got her to go.

They had told the whole church and when they got home we all discussed details and decided the wedding would be in Truro in July or August 2000. On Friday morning we called Father and booked the church for 1pm on Saturday, August 5, 2000.

Then we went ring shopping at Inglis Street. After much discussion in three shops there, I picked the engagement ring/wedding band set at Gold & Watch. It didn't fit exactly but it was my favorite. We got it sized in Ottawa.

Then we started making wedding plans. Read "Wedding Plans" for the rest of the story.

First Sight	Fell in Love	Engagement	Wedding Plans	Photo Album

Helen Heukshorst © 2000