Weddingbee Blog

“The ring isn’t the present!” he told me after we calmed down a little. “The ring is independent of Christmas. THIS is the small present.”

A weighty, rectangular package revealed the most recent issues of The Knot and The Knot: Ohio. What can I say? The guy knows his audience.

Then we drank the bottle of champagne he had hidden in the refrigerator. We danced and giggled and took pictures and started to talk about wedding stuff. I laughed about how I had given him underwear, which he had feigned enthusiasm for—not letting on that he was going to propose minutes later.

“I wasn’t faking!” he insisted. “I like them a lot. They’re my fiance boxers!”

(Double chin/fiance boxers + crazed happiness/gratuitous ring flash…at least we have fun.)

High on champagne bubbles and engagement, we proceeded to open all of our Christmas presents for each other while watching Love Actually and flipping through my new magazines.

We didn’t tell anyone until almost 24 hours later because my parents were stopping by on their way to a dinner. I figured, why tell them now if we can SEE their reactions tomorrow? But we didn’t want to tell anyone else before we told my parents.

So we kept it to ourselves—our little secret—for a whole day. (Well, I told the girl at the nail salon. She said she liked my ring, and I said “THANKS I GOT IT LAST NIGHT.”)

Of course, I understand the reaction of wanting to shout it from the rooftops, but to all you waiting ladies: consider having at least a few hours for the two of you.

After that, it’s all questions and reactions and people looking at your relationship in a new light. People will be a part of it for the rest of the process, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But I love that we had those hours for just us—reveling in our engagement within the four walls of my little house, within our little life together.

And waiting to see my parents’ reactions in person? Worth it!

Did you start calling people right away after you got engaged? Or did you wait it out a little?