The Surprise Engagement that inspired The Cotswold Proposal Planners

This might just be the most important proposal story we ever share… after all, it is the one that sparked the idea for The Cotswold Proposal Planners all those years ago!

When our Managing Director, Bec, was asked by her now-husband, Matt, to marry him, she couldn’t have been more blown away. As the planner in their relationship, she always thought she would know if Matt was up to something – he had never been particularly good at keeping surprises a secret, having on occasion blurted out birthday gifts before the big day! Despite this, he managed to plan an amazingly romantic and complete surprise proposal without Bec suspecting a thing! She reveals all in this upcoming blog post…

How did Matt get you to the proposal location without drawing suspicion?

Matt had cleverly disguised all of his secrecy as planning for my 30th birthday! I didn’t think any more of it.

When the day arrived, a week prior to my birthday, little did I know that I sent Matt into panic mode with my last-minute announcement of a work meeting in London. Matt realised that he would have to tell me something in order to make sure I was home in time, so with a little quick thinking he revealed that he had an early birthday dinner planned at a restaurant with limited availability and therefore didn’t know if he would be able to reschedule. The problem was I didn’t know how long the meeting would be, or what time I would be home (especially when travelling in rush hour!) and I obviously didn’t realise how important it was to be home in time. 

I hadn’t realised until afterwards that Matt had been messaging my work colleague throughout the day for updates on my eta. This sparked curiosity from that colleague who questioned if I had plans that evening; I nonchalantly responded that it was just an early birthday dinner somewhere. 

Where did the magical moment take place and how?

Luckily, I made it home in plenty of time and we made our way to the beautiful surprise location, Dormy House, which had been on my bucket list for some time. We sat in the cosy bar area with drinks and nibbles before moving to the dining room.

During dinner, Matt casually dropped into conversation that he had heard Dormy House had a really nice spa. I must have changed the subject a little sooner than Matt had planned as he later brought it up again! He suggested we ask if we could be shown around after dinner. I remember thinking “gosh, no! I don’t want to be an inconvenience to the busy waiting team” and relayed this sentiment to Matt. I thought this was the end of it and, after finishing our desserts, we were ready to go! Instead, whilst paying the bill, Matt asked our waitress if it would be possible to see the spa after all. Even at this point, I didn’t have a clue!

What happened when you entered the spa?

When we were shown to the spa entrance, the waitress opened the door for me to walk in first for what I thought was a browse! The lighting was dim and there were candles lining each side of the walkway. I remember thinking how lovely it looked and that they must do a twilight spa session. I then noticed music playing… it was my favourite band, Mumford & Sons, who we had seen in concert together at the O2 earlier that year. The penny didn’t drop until I followed the candles which led me all the way to a romantic setup with an open fire, seating for two and a bottle of champagne on ice. I looked back at Matt only to realise we were alone. He dropped to one knee, said some lovely things and asked me to marry him!

Wow, Matt really outdid himself! How did you feel after he asked you?

I was in complete shock, ecstatic, with a million questions about how he pulled it all off. Whilst enjoying the champagne, Matt revealed all of his secrets and we started to chat all things wedding! What made the occasion so special were all the little details which were personal to us and knowing how much thought and planning had gone into what is one of the most memorable moments of my life. Elements of our engagement have since featured at our wedding and we always enjoy a special trip back to Dormy House!

So, there you have it – the tale of how Bec and Matt got engaged! Fast forward to today and the pair have held their wedding at the beautiful Elmore Court and have become mum and dad to two lovely little girls, Emelia and Alessia!

Inspired by Bec and Matt’s engagement? To start crafting your own proposal story, get in touch with a member of The Cotswold Proposal Planners team today.