A thoroughly modern match, Natalie and Tim met on Tinder. It was 2015 – everyone was Tindering. In her final year at Cardiff University, Natalie had her Tinder radius fortuitously set for Tim, who was working as a Structural Engineer in the city, to get picked up on the radar.
Tim and I met on Tinder (cringe!) in February 2015. I was in my final year at Cardiff University studying English Language and Tim was working in Cardiff as a Structural Engineer. – Natalie
His card appeared in her stack and Natalie knew exactly what she had to do. Without a moment’s hesitation, she’d swiped right and hit her new match with a cool, calm and collected “Good hair”. Dressed as a cat in one of her photos, it didn’t take long for Tim to ping back “Good cat face” (very smoothly operated) – and the rest was history…
To avoid appearing on a future episode of Catfish, Natalie had her Nev and Max on standby in the form of her trusty university friends – on guard as Tim pulled up in his car. No blacked out windows in sight, Natalie was relieved to discover that Tim was exactly the guy she’d immediately hit it off with from the beginning.
Tim picked me up in his car (all my uni friends stood by with weapons incase I was being catfished by a weirdo). Straight away I felt like I had known Tim for years. As we drove to the restaurant the conversation flowed and when Busted ‘Year 3000’ came on the radio I gave Tim a glance of the crazy person he was about to fall in love with (he didn’t seem to mind). We had a lovely first date at Wagamamas in Cardiff and when I got home I told my uni housemates that I had met the man I was going to marry. – Natalie
Now together, the anthem to their drive and flowing conversation was Busted’s ‘Year 3000) – complete with comedy rendition á la car pool karaoke and Natalie couldn’t have possibly been happier. Tim just ‘got’ her and their first date went off without a hitch at the much-loved Wagamamas. Heading back home in a bit of a dream, Natalie announced there and then to her housemates that she’d met the man she was going to marry.
Flash forward to three years later and Natalie hadn’t been mistaken – he was the one. Behind the scenes, Tim had been orchestrating a very well thought out proposal, covering all the bases from keeping a secret for 4 months to keeping the ring hidden out of Natalie’s reach – at the top of their highest kitchen cabinet (not accessible to Natalie even by chair!).
The day I picked up the ring I stopped by Nat’s parents house on the way home to ask for their permission (almost as nerve-racking as popping the question itself!!), they obviously said yes – on the condition that I didn’t move to another country and take their daughter away from them! – Tim
Tim admits that the most nerve-racking part of the whole operation was asking for the permission of Natalie’s parents – which of course they gave, on the cheeky condition that he didn’t spirit their daughter away to the other side of the world anytime soon!
Our favourite place to holiday is Spain and we’d planned a 2 week break in August 2016 which I felt was the perfect time – although I definitely underestimated the stress of transporting the ring to another country whilst trying to keep it hidden! – Tim
For two weeks in August 2016, Natalie and Tim were holidaying in Spain when it all finally came together. After much preparation (including a rather stressful flight for Tim having to transport a hidden ring), Tim got the timing just right. The couple were strolling across the exceptionally scenic coastline of Cabo de Palos, Murcia, when Tim decided on the perfect spot to get down on one knee and ask Natalie the question he’d been waiting so patiently to ask for all that time.
There, on the edge of a suitably romantic cliff, Natalie couldn’t quite believe it. Proposal sprung after 18 wonderful months of being together, she blubbed out a “YES!” to Tim in-between the happy tears that the moment inspired.
Tim’s proposal was simply magical. Not a lot gets passed me…. but somehow he managed to keep it a secret, and successfully transport a ring to Spain & keep it hidden until the big moment. I was completely and utterly shocked and surprised. We both knew we wanted to spend our lives together, but I had no idea he was going to propose after just 18 months of being together. He had also asked my parents for permission before the holiday, which made it extra special for me. – Natalie
It meant the world to Natalie that Tim had taken the time to follow tradition – from choosing the ring which he designed with great care from Robert Gatward Jewellers to asking her parents for their daughter’s hand in marriage and so thoughtfully pairing a proposal with one of the couple’s favourite places… Whether it had been luck from the Tinder gods and their algorithm or sheer coincidence, it was all meant to be.
We are having a lovely rustic, vintage, countryside wedding – there will be pimms, garden games, and lots of bunting! – Natalie
Tim and Natalie are now very much looking forward to their wedding that will take place on Saturday the 11th of August, in the church where Natalie was christened, followed by a marquee reception quintessentially set against the backdrop of her parent’s garden. For the epitome of countryside bliss, their nearest and dearest need look no further than this very special day and what Natalie and Tim have in store to celebrate the occasion – with plenty of bunting, love and laughter.
Nat grew up in Saudi Arabia for 17 years and has always got travelling ‘itchy feet’ where she wants to go somewhere… anywhere! We are planning to move abroad one day… possibly to Abu Dhabi in UAE or somewhere similar – Tim
The couple love to travel and we’re sure that their adventures will take them all over the place – from the honeymoon to beyond!
We’d very much like to thank both Natalie and Tim for telling us their engagement story and wish them all the magic in the world for their future together.
If you’d like to feature in #ShareMyEngagement, please email any photos and details of the proposal to Chloë (Social Media at Robert Gatward) via [email protected] with the subject heading “#ShareMyEngagement”.
