Mr. Eel and I tend to be pretty laid back when it comes to our relationship. For anniversaries and other Hallmark relationship holidays (I’m looking at you, Valentine’s Day) we’ll usually celebrate with a dinner—sometimes just our favorite meal at home, sometimes a fancy dinner out—and a card and call it a day. Heck, we don’t even know when our dating “anniversary” really is and usually go out to dinner sometime in the middle of December as that is our best estimate.

Personal photo // A typical Eel Valentine’s Day card
So when we decided we were ready to get married, a choice we made together, there wasn’t really any element of surprise. Even though we went to pick and design a ring together and I knew we would soon be engaged, Mr. Eel and I still wanted to stick to some traditions. Mr. Eel wanted to ask my parents for their permission and wanted to officially propose rather than just ring tossing the ring onto my finger.
My birthday was coming up, and we were going to a nice Italian restaurant to celebrate. I thought for sure this was going to be the night he would propose. Secretly, I was also praying he wouldn’t do it in front of everyone at the restaurant or hide the ring in my tiramisu so I would find it while taking a giant bite. I get nervous being the center of attention in front of people I don’t know. After dinner we headed home where I thought he might propose in private. No proposal ye...