BRIDAL FEVER

There's a difference between Bridal Fever and Wedding Fever.
Bridal Fever: Wanting to be a Bride.
My term: I want to just marry my man.
The wedding never occurred to me. I just wanted to be married to my man.
(I didn't experience wedding fever just yet! Thank goodness!)

I must admit. At one point I really had bridal fever.

I think it all started when my friend got married.
Then it was the talk of the "years" involved.
Now dates are very important to the Chinese. One of the biggest worry was getting married in the year 2014. I really didn't like the number and it didn't give me a piece of mind. The year 2013 isn't that awesome either because they call it the "Widow Year".

I think as a child, the only thing I only planned about weddings was that I would get married by age 26 and that was it. But as years passed, not everything may have followed as scheduled. I have to say, the bridal fever stopped when I read a random blog, "Wouldn't you rather him surprise you? You wouldn't want to ruin that moment." That's true. My Bridal Fever stopped a month before he proposed. I remember going to a wedding and just enjoying our youth.

Bridal Fever Symptoms:
- Looking at Engagement rings
- Talking about weddings all the live-long-day
- Hinting the boyfriend too often
- You watch, eat, sleep and dream about it.


The Cure:
- Admit to it
- Talk to him about it and where the relationship is going.
- Calm yourself down or it may not even happen at all.
(What I mean by that is he may be scared away even more. Furthermore, it's a big turn-off.)

Stay strong. The right moment will come. For me, I left it to fate.

May I have your daughter's hand in marriage?

Now let's skip back a few steps. 

First thing was for my (truly glad to call him) fiance to ask my parents for permission to have my hand in marriage. It's a good gesture to show the father-in-law what a gentleman you are. I know it's more of an old tradition but it shows courtesy and respect to the family you are about to be united with. Having this blessing from the parents is the first step in building a positive relationship with the in-laws. My fiance have met with my parents in many different occasions and maintained a good connection.

So when it came to asking for permission, in Western cultures:

- Your man should meet with your father in person
- Have a good private conversation
- Express your feelings for her daughter

- Sincerely ask for his blessing

Our experience was more of an Asian culture that just ended up happening in a good note.

 My mom was more of "the boss" in the family. My dad was easy going. Knowing how my parents were, I don't think they could keep a secret. Furthermore, I bet my mom would lose sleep over it. I must admit, the fiance was pretty smart about it. He called my parents an hour before he popped the question. The main events in that phone call was:

Him: "I would like to marry your daughter, can I have your blessing?"

Mom: "About Time."

As traditional as I am about this subject, I was kinda happy about it. I got to be surprised and my parents got a phone call hours later when I got engaged.

The Proposal

I couldn't be happier with how my man did it. It truly took my breath away. It happened amongst all our friends. It was caught on video and pictures were taken in a 360 degrees angle by everyone.

It was at a Halloween Party. We had a Pumpkin carving contest. Everyone waited outside and slowly each one went in to judge the pumpkins. I was the last one to enter escorted by my fiance. Then I saw it. A large pumpkin in the middle that said "Will You Marry Me?" I turned around and there he was, down on one knee.

It was a sensational feeling. A time where my heart skipped a beat. I remember everything moving so slowly and I completely cherished every second of it. After dating for nine+ years, it was worth the wait.