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Did he propose? Am I engaged?

396 replies

crymeout · 13/03/2023 07:41

DP and I are in the process of buying a house. We've talked about getting married before and wanting to be married but we are going to wait until we move (we never explicitly said this but it was understood by both from circumstances). Last night, we were celebrating our house purchase (I wasn't feeling well at the weekend) and had quite a lot of Prosecco/champagne. At one point DP says 'now all that's left to do is get married' and I said 'yes, please' and we kissed. Does that count? A, I now engaged? DP is fast asleep so can't ask him yet but would you say that counts/assume you were engaged after that??

OP posts:
Ndd135632 · 13/03/2023 10:07

Liorae · 13/03/2023 09:57

I guess that explains the Mumsnet obsession with "roast dinners". I don't know anyone in real life who eats them.

We must move in different circles then 😂My friends and family love a roast dinner!

StephenDedalus · 13/03/2023 10:10

I hate this MN presumption that if you don't hold a business meeting to 'decide' you're getting married you're living in the 1950's.

Or that asking you while you're washing up or putting the bins out or pissed on prosecco etc is 'intimate and meaningful and if any effort is made it's all for 'show' and empty and meaningless...it's so reductive.

Frankly regular reading of MN convinces me there are many, many people on here who could use a little romance and attention!

My dh planned a proposal, with a ring that he'd had made, and it was incredibly meaningful and intimate and special to us as a couple as he brought us to where we'd first ever laid eyes on us and it's not at all a romantic place per se.

Life is hard at times and we're very much of the mind that you make things special and yes, romantic where we can, whenever we can.

We're married 20 years this year and we're still romantic and dh still buys flowers on a whim, books tables in nice restaurants, buys me beautiful jewellery and generally makes me feel very cherished and I do the same for him.

And, no, he's not a cheating, lying, lazy bastard behind closed doors and I never post anything about our relationship on facebook or instagram..it's not for 'show'

He's an excellent husband and father who more than does his share and pulls his weight.

OP I would not say you are engaged imo, but I would say you are on the same page which is wonderful!

Ndd135632 · 13/03/2023 10:11

Glame · 13/03/2023 10:04

Wow, could you be any more insensitive?

How is that insensitive? She was laughing at me being in the 1950s for thinking a man should propose to a woman and at the same time then talks about changing her surname. I am absolutely fine about her wanting to change her surname and actually think it was a lovely gesture from her now DH but then don’t mock someone else and say they are living in the 1950s because they think a romantic proposal is a nice gesture.

Interested in this thread?

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NevieSticks · 13/03/2023 10:13

This was how I ended up married the first time - on an "I suppose we should get married" . The second time I received a proper proposal - much better!

Liorae · 13/03/2023 10:14

StephenDedalus · 13/03/2023 10:10

I hate this MN presumption that if you don't hold a business meeting to 'decide' you're getting married you're living in the 1950's.

Or that asking you while you're washing up or putting the bins out or pissed on prosecco etc is 'intimate and meaningful and if any effort is made it's all for 'show' and empty and meaningless...it's so reductive.

Frankly regular reading of MN convinces me there are many, many people on here who could use a little romance and attention!

My dh planned a proposal, with a ring that he'd had made, and it was incredibly meaningful and intimate and special to us as a couple as he brought us to where we'd first ever laid eyes on us and it's not at all a romantic place per se.

Life is hard at times and we're very much of the mind that you make things special and yes, romantic where we can, whenever we can.

We're married 20 years this year and we're still romantic and dh still buys flowers on a whim, books tables in nice restaurants, buys me beautiful jewellery and generally makes me feel very cherished and I do the same for him.

And, no, he's not a cheating, lying, lazy bastard behind closed doors and I never post anything about our relationship on facebook or instagram..it's not for 'show'

He's an excellent husband and father who more than does his share and pulls his weight.

OP I would not say you are engaged imo, but I would say you are on the same page which is wonderful!

Do you buy him flowers?

Glame · 13/03/2023 10:15

Ndd135632 · 13/03/2023 10:11

How is that insensitive? She was laughing at me being in the 1950s for thinking a man should propose to a woman and at the same time then talks about changing her surname. I am absolutely fine about her wanting to change her surname and actually think it was a lovely gesture from her now DH but then don’t mock someone else and say they are living in the 1950s because they think a romantic proposal is a nice gesture.

Read the post again and realise the context as to why her DP wanted to have the same surname. And stop pretending to be so disingenuous.

StephenDedalus · 13/03/2023 10:17

@Liorae yes! Sometimes I do Smile
I also buy him small things that I know he'd like when I am out and about. We both work full time so have equality in that regard.
I don't buy him jewellery as he only wears his wedding ring but he has other interests and I buy him things related to that which would be equivalent

Ndd135632 · 13/03/2023 10:18

Glame · 13/03/2023 10:15

Read the post again and realise the context as to why her DP wanted to have the same surname. And stop pretending to be so disingenuous.

Yes and that is fine and as I said is a lovely gesture. But don’t then judge others and say they are living in the 1950s because they have THEIR own reasons as to why they would appreciate a romantic proposal from their partner.

Showersugar · 13/03/2023 10:19

MamaCanYouBuyMeABanana · 13/03/2023 07:50

You both agreed that you're getting married so I would say you're engaged.

Not sure what pp thinks a 'proper' proposal is, this was a lovely, intimate moment between the two of you while you were celebrating your house move, it sounds lovely. Its sad that some think a proposal has to be a huge organised thing.

Totally agree. It makes me cringe that there are grown adults who think this authentic, tender moment isn't an engagement but some performative, passive bullshit is.

StephenDedalus · 13/03/2023 10:20

My point of posting any of that is that is is boring to read that holier than thou attitudes that if your husband makes any effort there is something suspect going on and it's somehow childish to expect it.

It's not my experience so I know it's possible to have both

Nocutenamesleft · 13/03/2023 10:23

Ndd135632 · 13/03/2023 09:49

Irony is you think that a man asking a woman to marry him is old fashioned but you are fine to change your surname? 🤔

Hahah. That’s so true!!

WombatChocolate · 13/03/2023 10:27

Personally, I think engaged means there is a definite plan to get married and it’s within a timeframe, even if it’s a bit vague long timeframe, such as in the next 3 years.

Agreeing that at some indefinite point in the future, marriage is on the cards and is the next step in your relationship, doesn’t sound like an engagement to me….just both saying that they hope to move in that direction. But it’s not certain.

People often talk about the future. It can be quite hypothetical. ‘Yes, I really want to get married one day’ or ‘I can see us being married in a few years’ or ‘I think we will get married’

I guess proposals can take all forms from the man having been out and bought a ring and getting down on one knee and there being a plan about when and where within a few hours, to something that happens fairly spontaneously without any bells and whistles, but is still a shift from the position of there is no plan to get married, to there is a plan.

To be, getting engaged means having decided to get married. You don’t decide to get engaged with being engaged being a state in itself, without marriage being the end point.

OP, you said ‘yes please’ - I think he wwasnt proposing and will have taken what you said to mean agreement, that all that was left to do was to get married. If this was a proposal, after the kiss there would have been further talk. It would be very odd for neither person to say anymore about it.

To be honest, the communication doesn’t sound great. You clearly want to get married. Have you to,d him that very clearly or just hoped he knows? Your reply last night might not have made it clear you really want to do it soon, if your previous conversations have been similarly vague. Of course, you might have been much clearer previously and he might have no doubt about it and is telling you he can see a future when it happens…but it’s not right now.

Sometimes you have to have some tricky conversations and out yourself on thr line a bit. Back in the day when my DH and myself had been together for a while but weren’t married, I wanted to get married and we had a couple of quite tricky conversations about the future and timescales. DH certainly wanted to be married in his future but had to decide if I was definitely the one. I had already decided. He knew that because I told him. And I told him that I could wait for him to decide, but he would have to decide one way or the other. And there was a period of time when I knew we would either decide to get married or we would break up. Neither of us were interested in a relationship which spanned years without marriage, which was delaying us finding our actual future spouse. We actually got engaged at the point we’d been together 18 months and were married at the 2 year point.

I realise not everyone feels like this. Lots of people go years and years without making the commitment to marry…and it’s often a source of spoken or unspoken difficulty. Especially if people have kids, they are often not prepared to end a relationship over the marriage question, and I guess that indicates that it’s important to them, but not as vital as it was to me, or to some other people.

I wouldn’t ask the question ‘are we engaged’. I’d ask him if he remembers the conversation last night, and tell him that you’re really keen to get married and are glad he sees that in the future too, and want him to know, you’d love to do it soon. The ball really is then in his court.

Somanycats · 13/03/2023 10:29

My idea of an engagement is very old fashioned. You are engaged when you start to plan a wedding. No ring necessary and no big proposal involved.
I was engaged to DH after I said 'We should get married next year ' And he said 'Yup'. And then within a few days we started looking at venues.
It's not possible to be engaged for 20 years or to live with your fiancé for decades. You are only engaged if you are planning a wedding within the foreseeable.
Engaged - to make an agreement to marry.
Op just ask him if he is thinking of this year or next, and follow it up with 'Well lets get the ring(s) chosen (if you want one) before we tell our parents and off you go! Be the author of your own life.

Nocutenamesleft · 13/03/2023 10:31

StephenDedalus · 13/03/2023 10:10

I hate this MN presumption that if you don't hold a business meeting to 'decide' you're getting married you're living in the 1950's.

Or that asking you while you're washing up or putting the bins out or pissed on prosecco etc is 'intimate and meaningful and if any effort is made it's all for 'show' and empty and meaningless...it's so reductive.

Frankly regular reading of MN convinces me there are many, many people on here who could use a little romance and attention!

My dh planned a proposal, with a ring that he'd had made, and it was incredibly meaningful and intimate and special to us as a couple as he brought us to where we'd first ever laid eyes on us and it's not at all a romantic place per se.

Life is hard at times and we're very much of the mind that you make things special and yes, romantic where we can, whenever we can.

We're married 20 years this year and we're still romantic and dh still buys flowers on a whim, books tables in nice restaurants, buys me beautiful jewellery and generally makes me feel very cherished and I do the same for him.

And, no, he's not a cheating, lying, lazy bastard behind closed doors and I never post anything about our relationship on facebook or instagram..it's not for 'show'

He's an excellent husband and father who more than does his share and pulls his weight.

OP I would not say you are engaged imo, but I would say you are on the same page which is wonderful!

my Husband proposed and I knew it was coming. I didn’t want to get married for many years and he always did. He said to me ‘if for nothing else we should get married because if I die you’ll get my pension’. Whilst people might think this crass it was this that made me change my mind. Because he’s looking after the children.

I didn’t want a big song and dance. I didn’t want to get engaged in front of people and my absolute nightmare would have been someone videoing it and posting it to social media because that’s horrifying to me!!! Makes me shiver just thinking about it

so it was me and him. In a hotel room and that was that. The ring didn’t fit but he chose it. He originally said it was a temporary ring but I love it so much that I wouldn’t think of anything else

15 years later he’s still my best friend. He drives me crazy but he’s wonderful and I’m so lucky

pizzaHeart · 13/03/2023 10:32

@WhatWouldJeevesDo
I don’t know about all men being simple souls or not. My point was that considering the situation of house buying and living together my partner would behave similar (and he actually did) and it would be natural for me as I would think that our future plans were clear at this stage. In a different situation I might have a different view.

Thatboymum · 13/03/2023 10:35

I can’t believe there are posters going along with this I presume because of the “be kind” cry . Of course that’s not a proposal it was a statement not a bloody question. I’d say it’s a safe bet that if you have to ask strangers on the internet if you are engaged then you are not

StephenDedalus · 13/03/2023 10:42

@Nocutenamesleft I'm glad you had a proposal that worked for you and that you have a nice marriage.

I'm not sure if you quoted my post because you agree with what I wrote or disagree?

I had a romantic proposal with a lot of thought and effort and a ring but as I said, it was not a typically romantic place, it was not in front of an audience (though a passing car did blow their horn in a nice way!)

But my point remains just because someone want to get engaged at the top of the Eiffel Tower, or the Empire State Building, or in a nice restaurant does not automatically render their proposals 'passive, performative bullshit' as has been claimed on here.

OP is unsure whether there was a proposal or not, by her own admission lots of prosecco / champagne was drunk and her partner was asleep and snoring while she was ruminating , that's not the pinnacle of an intimate, special proposal that some are trying to make it out to be. Not in my book anyway.

Mitsahne · 13/03/2023 10:42

Of course you're engaged. We started talking about marriage a year after we met. We then planned a special day in Cambridge when he would give me a ring, we would take photos and have dinner. Was it a surprise? No, but that didn't matter because it was still a beautiful day for me. All this happened within a couple of weeks. He picked the ring because I didn't care, I just wanted to marry him. We got married ten months later. I don't understand all this waiting years. If you know you want to get married, then just do it. It doesn't need to be a surprise with him jumping out with a ring either.

pizzaHeart · 13/03/2023 10:43

OP, at least he’s not up at 6 am frantically working out what to do because he’s said too much.

GettingStuffed · 13/03/2023 10:43

Hard to say, DH just asked if I wanted to make the holiday we'd booked a honeymoon

Polis · 13/03/2023 10:45

I didn’t want a big song and dance. I didn’t want to get engaged in front of people and my absolute nightmare would have been someone videoing it and posting it to social media because that’s horrifying to me!!! Makes me shiver just thinking about it

I know it does happen, but how common is this though? I don’t know anybody who has done a full on “performance” proposal.

StephenDedalus · 13/03/2023 10:47

Me neither @Polis

JackHackettsMac · 13/03/2023 10:47

Ndd135632 · 13/03/2023 09:49

Irony is you think that a man asking a woman to marry him is old fashioned but you are fine to change your surname? 🤔

Whoosh! Oh dear, I think you missed the point by a country mile there so I’ll spell it out for you. 😂

He assumed as it was a blood cancer that he was going to die and was worried about leaving me with young DC. Thankfully, he was more subtle with his proposal.

evemillbank · 13/03/2023 10:50

I'd say no but who knows? Only him I guess

Fuckityfuckfuck123 · 13/03/2023 10:53

Thought I'd try to decode this from a man's POV. My husband said the kiss sealed the agreement.
Congrats on the house purchase and possible engagement.