Ladies this is your year to propose marriage! If your man is a bit slow to pop the question, why not take advantage of an old tradition which actually dates back to 5th century Ireland. The story goes that St. Bridget persuaded St. Patrick to allow women to ask their men to marry them. he was in favour of every seven years, but she persuaded him that every four years would be better. Hence the leap year marriage proposal was born.

In medieval times if the man proposed to turned down the offer he had to pay a forfeit of one pound and a pair of gloves or a silk gown. So if you are turned down perhaps you can invoke the old custom and end up (after inflation taken into account) with a tidy sum and a new wardrobe!

Of course in this modern age ladies can and do propose marriage whenever they want. But why not take advantage of this romantic tradition and choose 29th February 2012 to ask your man to marry you?

This year the 29th of February falls on a Wednesday so you can plan a weekend away afterwards, or book a hotel for the night, book a romantic meal in a nice restaurant or arrange a surprise at home for him.

There are many ways you can surprise him. It depends on your own personality types whether you go for something public and extravagant or something a little more private and low key. If he’s a sporty type check if there’s any matches on that he may be interested in. You may be able to contact whoever looks after the scoreboard to organise a pre-prepared banner to be draped over it at half time. Maybe he plays indoor sports, likewise you could organise a surprise for him in the squash court/indoor soccer hall etc. Even just go for a walk, weather permitting, through a local woods. You could organise a kind of treasure trail. Behind one tree place a bottle of his favourite beer, behind another tree place a ticket to a concert or match. You could even just post little love notes if money is tight. Eventually you end up at a nice spot where you may have a sign with the words ‘will you marry me?’ on it. To ensure things go smoothly you may need to enlist some help to place the items in the various prearranged locations.

Anyhow the possibilities are endless, the only limit is your imagination. You could have great fun planning and organising it.

Go on! Take the chance, he might be just waiting for it. Be romantic and creative and come back and tell us all about it. If he says yes make sure to revisit to plan your wedding. Good Luck!