You Will NEVER Believe How I Met My Husband

4 years. 4 years since we became official. How time flies…There is a funny part to how I met my husband on October 2016. My former housemate and friend, married René’s brother and this is when it all began. Who would’ve thought?!?

HOW WE MET

The wedding ceremony took place in the Netherlands, as my friend is Dutch.  Amidst the invited guest, the close friends and family member present, I met René.

No, it wasn’t love at first sight. I didn’t speak a word of Dutch, so René coming over to speak to me was very kind. I was curious as to why he came over to talk to me. Well, I’m sure you know what he response was- “That I look very attractive, of course!!” – … But also, that he would like to get to know me and practice some English.

What drew me to René is his confidence and boldness; he doesn’t  shy away from a conversation with anyone. Indeed, if you must know, few years later after our wedding,  when René moved to  London to join me, he seriously planned to go to Downing Street and ask for a meeting with the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, all to tell him what a terrible decision Brexit was!

So, back to the wedding day, our conversation sparked a deeper interest. We found ourselves talking to each other for almost the entire evening of the wedding. Turns out we had similar Christian upbringings as well as a mutual passion for entrepreneurial pursuit.

Then, it happened. The moment when *sigh and gasp* my hair gets caught in my dress button. You know that moment you think you can sort it out on your own, but the button decides to embarrass you further. LOL. Yet, with all the patience in the world, René kindly helped me and untangled it.

Talk about forming a bond!

As the evening drew to a close, René asked whether he could take my number to stay in touch. And I did not hesitate to give.

To my surprise, René’s text woke me up the next morning. He asked if I returned to Utrecht safely  because I did mention that I was going  to visit my friend. He asked if I was free to meet again before returning to the UK. Unfortunately, I had already had prior engagements thus unable to make it happen. René continued to check in and asked me to let him know I returned safely to the UK. I was very touched by his concern.

From there, after 4 months of getting to know each other [as friends] through daily phone and video calls, our bond had only deepened enough to the point where we decided to meet up again and explore things further.

Our first plan was for me to fly to the Netherlands for one weekend. As I arrived that day, René greeted me with a huge bouquet of roses and an unexpected kiss. Caught off guard yes, but very pleased!

Like I said earlier, René is confident and bold. So he made his intentions fully clear and asked me on a date whilst I was in the Netherlands.

On our first day in Amsterdam, we visited the famous Anne Frank’s museum and House, Vondelpark   and cycling through Amsterdam along the corner streets through the chess board street. Amsterdam is like any other cosmopolitan city, busy and intriguing. If you’re interested in visiting Amsterdam and Rotterdam, check out these posts.

René was very keen for me to try out Dutch food. So he took pleasure in introducing me to Kibbling, Stroopwafels, Krokets, Bitterballen, Kaas ( Cheese in Dutch). Gouda is reknown for its incredible cheese and people travel from all over the world to attend the cheese festival in Gouda every year, you should try it if you’re a cheese fan! The Netherlands is also known for, Pancakes! I visited a few pancake cafes during our time together.

The rest of Dutch food I tried during all my travels to the Netherlands such as Herings, Oliebollen, Poffertjes, Stamppot! I do enjoy Dutch cuisine and René’s mum is great at making these.  It’s a delight that I always look forward to eating her food whenever we’re in the Netherlands.

Call me old-fashioned, but I like to stick to tradition. I believe everything should be done and executed in the way they ought to be. For us, René presenting me with a bucket of flowers and a kiss still did not make us official. So, he organised a romantic date and there officially ask that I be his girlfriend. Who is like me on this? I strongly believe a man should play the roles assigned to him – ask a woman out on a date; ask her to be his girlfriend if he wishes to pursue things further; ask her to marry him etc. I don’t believe that roles should be reversed in these sort of matters and I will explain or share with you on my YouTube Channel someday why I believe men should be men.

René arranged to take me on a date to the best seafood restaurant in Amsterdam. It was such an incredible meal that we have set a date to return to celebrate our journey so far. If I Remember correctly, we visited The Seafood Bar …

Our Cinderella Story

The next day, we visited VondelPark which is officially the most beautiful and romantic park I have ever visited. I  enjoy visiting parks and I must say that we have incredible parks in London but never been to one as VondelPark. At this Park, as René and I strolled along this crisp winter day in the middle of February, René handed me a ring and said, I want you to have this. I looked at the classic engagement ring and exclaimed, I will not marry you – we’ve only just met! To which René said, we haven’t just met, we have been getting to know each for 4 months now.

Sensing my surprise, he asked if the ring fit any of my finger. I put it on and surprise, surprise- the only finger it fit was my engagement finger! Not sure what to call it to be honest.

René  was also very stunned, and exclaimed it fit your finger with a cheeky smile! He then went on to tell me the story behind the ring.

René works in Construction and during renovation of one of his projects, he found this ring.  Looking rather beautiful and the classic engagement ring, he took it and vowed to only give it to someone special.

René carried this ring with him for years. And in those years, he showed the ring to some female friends, who wanted to have it. He refused and as they persisted, he agreed to give it only to anyone who the ring fits. It turned out that none of his female friends could have the ring as it didn’t fit any of them.

I guess fate had it that the ring was for me :). And it inspired the engagement ring René later bought and designed for me, as I very much loved that ring and all it represents.

After René handed the ring to me, he never stopped asking whilst our long distance relationship lasted,  if I could wear the ring each time. So, to him it signifies something special or to secretly ensure I had a piece of him to tell the world I was taken…. I chose to see it as a ‘Promise’ ring until we were sure that we were both ready to embark on the next phase of our lives…

And it all went like a romantic whirlwind. Our first date was nothing short of magical. René introduced me to his family, showed me where he grew up… I was fully immersed into his world and instantly felt like a part of the family, for their warmth and openness helped greatly! I have really met someone special!

A Bit about US

We are not your typical pairing, René is very much into his crafts, while I am is very much into my literature – both reading and writing. But as the saying goes, opposites attract!

When together, we are equally as happy together indoors as we are together outdoors. When staying in, we enjoy having conversations about serious subjects, such as politics, or conversely, talking about anything silly that comes to mind. Anything goes! What’s so special is the fact we constantly love to learn about each other’s point of view.

When exploring the great outdoors, we enjoy experiencing the hustle and bustle of London, finding hidden gems in the city on every visit. When in the mood for a little escapism, we enjoy going for long country walks in the more rural areas of the Netherlands.

Lovers of the simple things, together we share a passion for food and particularly enjoy cooking new recipes. Rene especially enjoys making breakfast, while I prefer cooking dinner. A match made in heaven, right?!

In general, we love exploring new things and places. Taking leaps of faith and trusting that with God and with each other, it will all be amazing! And it has been nothing short of amazing, click here to read about how Rene proposed to me.

René  and I compliment each other nicely. He never stresses while I tend to love to organise, plan and structure everything which can be overwhelming. René is very chilled but also a perfectionist. It takes him less time to structure his day and it always turns out to be great fun! As he’s not the best at planning, he can be super spontaneous.

Initially, I struggled with his spontaneity but over time I’ve learnt to enjoy this side of him and he has learnt to surprise me within the boundaries I can handle – I suppose you only learn this about each other with TIME.

I particularly love René’s Trust in God, this always keeps me grounded and more at peace that everything will work out in the end.

I always look forward to René coming home from work because I know he always puts a smile on my face no matter how difficult the day has been for him and I.

I’d definitely say he is my YIN :).

I hope our simple love story helps you in your search for love, I will leave you with my favorite quote by William  Shakespeare.

“Love is not love which alters it when alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove: O no! It is an ever fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken; it is the star to every wandering bark whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.  Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle’s compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out, even to the edge of doom.”- Sonnet 116