Juan and I were at school together from the age of 14. We used to all sit in our little ‘bodyboarding group’, saw each other every weekend on the beach, after school and most holidays. Apparently Juan always had a crush on me. I was still too young to appreciate him. We were still in school when we made a pact that when we turn 40 and we’re not married, we would have to get married to each other. A few years later, Juan said that that is way too far and that we have to move it to 30! I always had the idea in my head that I would only get married at 28 and have my first child by 30…and guess what?
We always kept in touch after school, even while in different countries on the same continent. He always managed to find me. We became really good friends, the type that even if you haven’t seen him for a whole year, when you finally meet up for coffee, there is no akwardness, nothing! I always felt a strong attraction to Juan and secretly knew that he would be the man I marry.
Years went by and we both had our disastrous relationships that we knew from the start would fail, but tried it anyway. I was chatting to my dad one day in Jhb and told him how I felt about Juan. My dad suggested I go down to Durban and ‘see’ if there was a romantic side to our friendship. I took his advice and a few days later, I found out that I had the man of my dreams right under my nose all these years!
Juan and I started dating and I moved down to Durban. We lived together for a few months when he told me he would not be able to get any leave in December and with my job, we have to close over the December holidays. I had organised a week off from October 3rd, 2009. We were going to go to Mozambique…or so I thought! About a month before we were supposed to go on holiday, I noticed a few really strange things going on around me that I only realised afterwards! I received a delivery from a flower company. It was beautiful! Roses and a few other flowers mixed in… the card read: Clue One: Sugar and spice and all things nice!
Ok, I thought, what the hell does this mean??? It turns out that there were a few more ‘clues’ to arrive…
The second was an envelope. It contained a voucher for a Spa facial and massage. It had a little piece of paper that read: “Bohemian rhapsody”. Ok, I was really confused!
The third was a pair of shoes in the most beautiful box with another paper that read: “2800″.
The fourth was a beautiful flat box with a red ribbon. In it was a beautiful evening dress and the clue was a little pebble. The fith was an evening of wining and dining at a restaurant locally called “Zanzibar”.
I found out on the night of the fith clue what they all meant! “Sugar and spice and all things nice” – Zanzibar is renound for their spice production. “Bohemian Rhapsody”- Freddy Mercury was born in Zanzibar. “2800″ - the distance in km from here to there. “The pebble” – Stone town is the capital!!!
It turned out that we weren’t going to Mozambique, but were going away to Zanzibar the Island!!!!!
A week later we got there and it was and is the most amazing place I have ever been to! That night after Juan acted a bit weird, I knew that tonight is the night! After dinner, Juan suggested we go for a swim. We got to the beach and the water had retracted so far back that if you wanted to go for a swim, you’d have to walk about 200m or go swim in the pool. He was a bit strange and kept on smiling and staring at me.
Eventually he grabbed my hand and threw his towel on the floor and at the same time went on one knee and said: “Marietjie Viljoen, sal jy my die gelukkigste man op aarde maak? Sal jy met my trou?” Meaning: “Marietjie Viljoen, will you make me the happiest man on earth? Will you marry me?”. Me, all emotional and wimpering said: “Of course!!!” He then asked: ” So does that mean yes?”
Afterwards I told him it nearly looked like him giving me a peace offering, the way he held the ring in the air whilst he was on his knee. We enjoyed the following week as a newly engaged couple. What an amazing holiday!!!
This article was posted by Celebration.co.za - South Africa Wedding Guide.
We were on a cruise ship. Our first night on the ship was terrible for me, because I was terribly sea sick. So we had to cut our evening short so I could try and sleep. The next morning, when I opened my eyes, he was lying there, just staring at me. He started telling me how he feels about me. I was still a bit off from the previous night, but when he took out that ring, my sickness just disappeared! My heart was pounding. He got off the bed, went down on both knees and asked me to marry him. Words can never explain how I felt inside. He made my dream come true.
