In Her Memory Part 2: Our Life Before Cancer

Our Life Before Cancer

Clare and I had been together for around 18 years. I had temporarily moved to her town for work purposes and was staying in a hotel. I was only supposed to be there a few months but when I first met Clare, I knew I wanted to ask her out on a date.

Eventually, we started dating and then I decided I was not going to move away.

A year or two later we bought a house together and had our first child. Several years after that we decided on having another.

The Years Before Marriage

As is common with those who start a family, the next ten years flew by. We had talked about marriage on occasion but Clare had never seemed interested. She always used to say “We should be together because we want to be together and not because of a piece of paper saying we are married”.

When the boys had grown up a bit, we went away for a long weekend in Rome. It was during this trip that I thought it would be the perfect time to propose to her.

Whilst we were out one night having a romantic meal, I was about to pop the question when we were chatting about stuff and Clare said “Yea, I’m not that fussed about getting married”. This of course put me off asking her and whilst we had a great time in Rome, I never did get around to proposing.

Clare in Rome

Then One Day I Proposed

It was another five years until I plucked up the courage to ask her to marry me again. We were due to visit some friends in America and I thought that would be a great place to do it.

I told my American friends that I was going to propose and they suggested driving to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia as it is a very picturesque and romantic location.

However, when they told me it was about an eight hour drive to get there, I changed my mind and decided we may as well stay at their home and I’ll propose there. I really didn't fancy travelling for eight hours with my boys in the car!

We had some food at our friends and I was determined to ask Clare before I’d had any alcohol. The four of us were just chatting in the kitchen when I just looked at Clare and said “Will you marry me?”

Clare just burst out laughing for a couple of seconds and then stopped laughing and said ”Wait, are you serious?” I said yes and then she started to cry and said “Yes”.

Our boys were in the other room at the time and I heard my eldest say “I think Mum and Dad are getting married”.

Something I had completely overlooked was the engagement ring. My friend soon came to the rescue and gave me a cheap metal biker ring that he had found in his house somewhere. Clare actually loved that ring and wore it right up until our wedding day where it was replaced with her wedding ring.

Whilst the setting wasn’t quite as romantic as the mountain range, it was lovely and Clare was so happy. We then celebrated for the rest of the evening and I even got to sample some moonshine. I will remember that night for the rest of my life.

The Rings

Once we got back the UK, whilst Clare and her Mum arranged the wedding over the next year, I had a brilliant idea. I was going to make our own wedding rings. The only problem was that I didn’t know how. I spent several months watching jewellery making videos on YouTube, bought the necessary tools and some gold and practised these new skills on cheaper metals.

I had to shape, file and solder the rings.

Constructing the Rings

Finally spending hours polishing them.

The Final Result

This is how they were presented on our wedding day.

Presentation Box

The Wedding

Coming soon...

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