She Said Yes

It was Eleanor and Jacob's two year anniversary of when they started dating on Saturday. They had booked to go to London for the weekend to celebrate but with the new coronavirus restrictions in place in Leeds they had to cancel, so instead, they booked a night at the Queen's Hotel in City Square. 

They wanted to make it special so they ate on Saturday night at The Ivy in Victoria Quarter. They hadn't been there before, it was expensive but they said the food was excellent and it was lovely if you have something to celebrate.

Afterwards they visited a cocktail bar before ending their evening at the Sky Lounge, The Hilton's rooftop restaurant and bar, for more cocktails. There's an outdoor terrace where you're able to take in the panoramic views of Leeds, however, the weather on Saturday was such that the doors had been locked and they had to drink their cocktails indoors. Unbeknown to Eleanor, Jacob had a word with the staff and they unlocked the doors for him so that he could take Eleanor outside amongst the bright lights of Leeds and he proposed to her.

Although it wasn't a total surprise to Eleanor she was taken by the moment and couldn't stop crying. Jacob had given his phone to a member of staff who managed to snap some photos for them.

Of course, Eleanor said yes and afterwards, people who had seen what had happened were clapping and congratulating them. They were given glasses of prosecco on the house.

Eleanor and Jacob met whilst they were at university. It's funny really as both my children took science degrees and both have partners who were their lab partners whilst at university. Jacob comes from the Midlands but when they finished university he wanted to be nearer to Eleanor so he looked for a job here in Yorkshire. He found a job in York and rents a room in a shared house. He came here to stay for the weekend a couple of weeks ago and just as he was about to go home he got a text from one of his housemates saying that one of the other housemates had tested positive for coronavirus. This meant that he had to isolate for a period of fourteen days. He couldn't really go back home where someone had coronavirus as Jacob wasn't showing any symptoms and if he didn't have it we didn't want him catching it so he stayed here. Whilst isolating, the new restrictions came into force and we're now not allowed to mix in our own houses or gardens with other households. We figured that as Jacob was already here and isolating, he was part of our household. This is the reason why Eleanor and Jacob have managed to spend some time together. He's now gone back to his own house as everyone is out of isolation, and luckily, none of the other housemates have come down with the virus. Unfortunately, it now means that as Jacob is now back in York, and Leeds is still under local restrictions, they don't know when they'll get to see each other again.

It's such an awful situation. When the country was in lockdown earlier this year they didn't see each other for over twelve weeks. The worst part of it is that Jacob moved here to be with Eleanor, he doesn't even have any family nearby.

Wedding preparations are now on hold until they're able to see each other again. They had hoped to get married next year but it's looking more and more unlikely with so many restrictions in place. I should imagine that everywhere will be booked up anyway with so many weddings from this year having been postponed.

And what about the ring? Well, the proposal wasn't totally out of the blue. Jacob had taken Eleanor ring shopping when we came out of lockdown and she'd chosen the ring she liked so she knew a proposal was on the cards, she just didn't know when it was going to happen. The ring is an 18 carat white gold single stone ring with diamond detailing. It's so sparkly.

Asking the bride's father's permission before proposing may seem a little old fashioned in this day and age but I think it shows respect and we were very touched that Jacob approached Mick and told him of his intentions before he proposed. We can't be happier to be welcoming him to the family, he's such a lovely young man and they're both very lucky to have found each other.