Paris: A Plus Size Proposal

Welcome back you guys! Some of you may already know I went to Paris the weekend before last and my boyfriend of 7 years proposed to me!

So if you read my last post – Things to pack for a plus size city break then you’ll already know I was going to Paris. But something special happened when we were there, I got engaged! And this is my story.

I haven’t been abroad in a good while and if I’m honest I think I’d put it off because of my weight. I was forever telling myself that my body wasn’t ready for it and putting my life on hold until I lost weight. Well often life gets in the way and these things get waylaid, so I stopped beating myself up and just told myself to go for it. I’m so glad that I made this decision because good things happened! I built memories for life and the love of my life proposed.

I’m going to share my experience with you guys, so let me get stuck in and start off by talking about the trip. If you want to skip the travel talk and go straight to the proposal story then, go to ‘the proposal’ sub-heading.

The Flight

I hate flying because flights are packed tightly to maximise profit and often the comfort of passengers goes out of the window. So therefore I’m always conscious of my weight and who I’m sat next to. I worry that they’ll complain that my fat bap is sat next to them. Often air stewards don’t make the situation any better either. However Air France were great. They never made us feel uncomfortable or a burden, they simply asked if we’d like to move just to be more comfortable and because of this I didn’t hate the flight and it felt as though it was over in a heartbeat.

Sight Seeing

It’s such a beautiful place and there’s so much there to see and do, we couldn’t do it all in a long weekend and I would like to go back. Every corner of the city is just packed full of history and you honestly don’t realise just how big it is. But whilst we were there we managed to see:

1. The Champs-Elysées 
2. The Arc de Triomphe
3. The Louvre 
4. The Eiffel Tower
   

   
5. Les Invalides
6. Palais Garnier 

I promise that I didn’t wear the same River Island Plus jacket, tee and jeans for the entire weekend, it was just on the day where I took the most tourist-y photos. When I first saw the Eiffel Tower we were in the taxi to the hotel and I cried. It was so overwhelmingly beautiful. From every monument and the city you just get an overwhelming sense of pride. And rightly so, Paris is so beautiful and I would go back in a heartbeat. There was so much more that I wanted to see and do that we couldn’t fit in a long weekend, so I will definitely have to go back.

Getting Around

When speaking to a lot of people they suggested using the metro to get around the city. But honestly, my sense of direction is awful and combine that with not understanding French and it was a recipe for disaster. So it was definitely a no go. It wasn’t through lack of trying though, I really wanted to use the metro as it’s the most authentic way to see the city, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

So instead we had a quick Google and the Open Tour Paris buses came up. They’re open top tour buses that travel around the city, and you can hop on and hop off at the stops. There were different routes that took us around the different areas in the city. The bus stopped right near to the tourist attractions. They came frequent enough and you even got a tour of The River Seine. Plus it was sunny enough to sit on an open top bus and catch some rays.

The Proposal

I can honestly say that I had no idea. We speak so open and honest to each other about our future all the time so he knew my feelings. We’ve been together for over 7 years now and we know each other inside and out, and I can honestly say I can’t picture my life without him. He always encourages me to be the best version of myself and I love him for that.

We went to Torquay last November and I had said then that Paris would be my ideal proposal and from that moment on he began to plan. It turned out he was sending secret messages to friends and family, he even changed my best friends name in his phone! He’d secretly met with my parents to ask for my hand in marriage. The fact that he’d put so much time and effort in to do something so special for me means so much.

So the proposal happened underneath the Eiffel Tower, just as the sun was setting. I was standing there getting frustrated because I wanted to que and go up the Eiffel Tower but obviously he had other plans, and I nearly ruined them. I didn’t know but he’d arranged for my parents, his Nan and Grandad (his legal guardians) and his brother and his wife to be in Paris at The Eiffel Tower when it happened.

He was so nervous, bless him, but we’d stood under the tower and he pointed to something so I would turn around, I then turned back and he was on the floor and on one knee with the ring. He asked me to marry him, I said yes of course, and he then said oh and by the way all the family are here. They then appeared out of nowhere and I was just on cloud nine.

Obviously the ring didn’t fit my sausage fingers which was a bummer because it was so beautiful. We’ve sent it off to Beaverbrooks to be re-sized now and in the meantime I’m sporting a costume jewellery ring in a similar style. But, I’m not going to lie, the fact the ring didn’t fit did upset me, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows. It was such a special moment and the ring not fitting, did put a downer on it. I don’t think it will seem real until I have it back and I’m able to wear it with pride. It wasn’t his fault, he’d actually been very clever and got my brother to make me try on a ring, he bought it, and they then took it into the jewellers. They went to three jewellers and they all sized it differently, so it’s no surprise it didn’t fit really.

It was the best trip and together we’ve made such great memories, Paris will forever be our special place. I’m so happy and honestly so proud that he was able to pull it off. There’s not going to be an immediate wedding, that’s something for the not too distant future. I just worry now that he’s too good a keeping secrets (just kidding).

For all you lovelies out there putting your life on hold because of your weight, stop. This year so far, has been proof for me that when you stop holding yourself back good things happen. Start doing things that are healthy for your mental health and the rest will follow suit.

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