He said YES - a leap year proposal and afternoon tea in the woods!

Yesterday, the 29th of February was just the most exciting day chez Golden Afternoon Tea Company- we actually pulled off the Marry Me special leap year proposal afternoon tea ! Well, I didn't do the proposing, that fell to the lovely Kim! I received an email from her, after having been told about this blogpost by a friend who knew she might be proposing to her beau. Luckily, as it was all organised at the last minute and leap day was almost upon us,she didn't have time to change her mind and took the leap.
Here is an excerpt of their story as sent to me by Kim-
'So, the story is that we've been together 11 and a half years and almost 7 years ago we were going to get married but lost momentum. We were living in Greece and didn't want to cause a minor climate catastrophe in the name of our marriage getting everyone out to Greece. What was meant to be 1 year in Greece turned into 6 so the wedding just never quite happened. Now we have beautiful baby alice and we're back living in the UK so i have been pestering him to get married, but he now claims that it's cool to have a kid out of wedlock and he has jokingly said that i would need to ask him to marry him since he's already done it (because of the cold feet last time). So we'll see. If he says no, it will still be a nice way to show him i think he's great, but he might well say yes.. whatever the outcome, it will be fun, a 'will you marry? tea' in the woods'

Absolutely thrilled to get involved(just call me cupid!) I packed up the van with cakes and tables and teacups and off I set to woods very near their home and set up the proposal tea table in a secluded spot surrounded by silver birches. It's a favourite part of their walk, as Kim told me the late afternoon sun always catches the trees beautifully. I was just hoping the sun would put in an appearance in time for the proposal!



Kim and I were full of excitement, laughing away at the crazy goings on as we set everything up, at one point she turned to me and said 'what am I doing?!' But there was no going back now!!
Also present overseeing her mum's big moment was Kim and Tim's gorgeous little girl, Alice.. a serious contender for cutest baby ever! Here they are just before Tim arrived.

Once I had set the tea up, I lurked in the bushes to make sure there were no last minute visits from any passing dogs, Kim went off to meet Tim. I had a tummy full of butterflies so can't imagine how she was feeling.. Tim's laughter filled the air as he came round the corner ( I knew I should have brought my false beard, still hiding in the undergrowth at this point) it was wonderful to hear. Off I snuck, leaving them to it!


Dear reader, he said YES! Apparently he was thrilled and shocked and stunned, there were even a few tears!




Kim and Tim are just the loveliest couple, it was all terrific fun, and such a privilege to be involved in a momentous event such as this! When I rejoined them, they were both beaming with joy..


I love this one, my camera was being rubbish- so is terribly blurry but here is the whole family, Alice and Festi the dog included!

The afternoon tea menu included mini heart shaped victoria sponges, passionfruit cupcakes, scones and cucumber, smoked salmon, brie and cranberry finger sandwiches, all served with teapots brimming with earl grey and peppermint tea for mummy Kim! Even Festi got a sandwich.

So if this has inspired you to take the plunge and propose, don't wait another 4 years - just do it! Or any fella who needs a hand in planning a proposal, drop us a line!

This song was playing on the radio as I drove home, and was the perfect soundtrack to the day!
Wishing you lots of happiness Kim, Tim and Alice.. CONGRATULATIONS!






Thanks to Kim for some of the pics and also Anna and the Ring for her blog post.