Thinking about proposing to your man tomorrow? Take some inspiration from this bold lady, writes Maria Cusine.
Vicki did not drop down on bended knee. She didn’t even utter the million dollar question herself.
She took advantage of the Leap Year proposal tradition by saying it with chocolate. She had the words Will You Marry Me? inscribed on a slab of chocolate which she placed on her pillow next to partner Dan Burden as he slept during the early morning of February 29, 2004.
She crept downstairs and waited for him to awaken. And when he did, he raced down the staircase, burst into the lounge where she was sitting and proclaimed ‘Yes!’
The rest, they say is history - as the Halesowen couple are now Mr and Mrs Burden, having tied the knot almost two years ago.
Vicki’s Leap Year proposal wasn’t her first proposition in their relationship - the 42-year-old actually asked Dan out on their first date.
Vicki, who met Dan when they worked together at an architects firm in Halesowen, asked Dan, 32, out via email.
“We sat next to each other at work and got on very well together. We socialised in a group from work but I was quite taken with him and thought I’d ask him out myself.
“I wasn’t brave enough to do it face to face - just in case he said no - so I thought I’d drop him an email,” she said.
“Thankfully he said yes and we haven’t looked back since,” said Vicki, a management assistant at Merry Hill shopping centre in Brierley Hill.
The couple were dating for 14 months when Vicki decided to pop the question in the 2004 Leap Year.
“When we first got together he gave me the impression he wasn’t terribly keen on going down the marriage route. But later on he hinted that he was changing his mind.
“I was keen on marriage and so when the Leap Year day arrived in 2004 I thought I’d ask him myself on February 29. We were living together at the time and when he said yes to me it was the icing on the cake,” she said.
She admits she was not brave enough to say the words face-to-face but decided to use love tokens to pop the question.
“I bought a small cuddly teddy holding a heart, candles containing words of love and a chocolate slab from Thorntons featuring the words Will You Marry Me?
“I woke up early that day, got up and placed them on my pillow next to Dan. I crept downstairs and waited for him to wake up.
“The next thing I remember was hearing him get out of bed and he came racing don the stairs and burst through the lounge door saying ‘yes’. I was overjoyed. I have to admit I’m rather sentimental so I did cry,” she says.
And Dan’s verdict?
He was over the moon. He said he wasn’t surprised that Vicki had asked, but he was surprised by the manner of the proposal.
“He was really touched by the love tokens and impressed at the thought that had gone into it,” said Vicki. “We are very like-minded, so he was very touched and thought it was wonderful”.
She does admit to being very nervous. “I was nervous and excited and I didn’t want it to go wrong, so was thrilled when he said yes.
“I know some girls may be a bit more traditional than myself, but in these days of equality I can’t see why women can’t propose,” she said.
The couple were married on June 21, 2006 at Dudley Priory. “It was the longest day of the year and it was superb. It was a very much laid-back small affair but exactly what we wanted. It was lovely.”
And what advice would she offer other girls considering proposing to the man in their life?
“If you know he’s the one for you and you are pretty sure he will say yes, then ask him on February 29,” said Vicki.
So good luck girls - and remember, if his response is negative he doesn’t deserve you anyway!
l We’d like to hear from any female Express & Star readers taking the plunge on tomorrow’s Leap Year Day. If you think it’s time you tied the knot with your man but he’s being backwards in coming forwards, Friday is the day for you to do the asking. If you are proposing to your man tomorrow, please let us know. Contact Maria Cusine on 01902 319282 or email m.cusine@expressandstar.co.uk
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