Ninderry Manor Guests of the Month May 2005

Guests of the Month - May 2005

Ninderry Manor Comments

We had the most beautiful couple who stayed one Sunday night - Simon and Mira. Mira came from Slovakia and was the loveliest lady we have ever met. She is a Pilates instructor and Simon is a writer. ( I don't know what he is writing ... perhaps a mystery?)

Anyway, next morning Simon said to me "I am going to propose Mira now in our garden where it is perfect for us". He showed us a beautiful diamond ring. And I asked what will happen if she says "No". Can I have the ring instead? He was very sure she would say "Yes". All of sudden, I picked some flowers from our garden and made a bunch from them. Meanwhile, Aki became an cameraman to capture every moment of their proposal. It was very exciting and we felt like their parents. We watched how they were going through the window while holding our breaths. We were so happy when she said "Yes".

Guest Comments

Ninderry Manor was the ultimate getaway, even though we weren't needing to getaway. I booked the luxury B&B as I planned to propose to my girlfriend and wanted the perfect location and lead-up to the occasion. I wasn't let down and we left with my fiancée and myself thinking I'm a legend for finding such a place. The setting - serene. The food - so refreshingly different from the norm, so delicious you wanted the same meal again for the next meal. The hosts, Aki and Miyuki, way cool - the sort of people you keep in contact with. The accommodation - white glove clean, near pristine, modern yet warm and cosy (a rare combination). The attention to detail and inclusion of those things that all others overlook really adds that finishing touch and was much appreciated.

The Proposal Story

Mira had always been a fan of the show "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" - in fact, it was the only show she turned the TV on for. So I went to their web site and ripped off an internet version of the game and modified it for my purpose and to have questions that were meaningful to us. Instead of monetary prizes, I had loving prizes and surprises which would only be revealed when she had safely won them. So to her, it looked like we were just playing a fun game - she had no idea about any proposal. The laptop computer was secretly hooked up to the TV for realism.

I had planned the questions so it wasn't too easy, yet not too hard, as I wanted her to get to the final question. I gave her the three "life-lines" the show has, allowing her to "ask the audience for their opinion", "eliminate half the answers", or "phone a friend". She used them all up, phoning a friend for the penultimate question. The friend answered correctly and Mira won a coat she had dreamed of owning - she even swore in disbelief when she saw it (with the friend still on the phone!). After she had calmed down, she went to play the final question but the 'end of today's show' buzzer sounded, meaning she must come back and play tomorrow.

We then arrived at Ninderry Manor. I'd seen their web site, I knew it would be the perfect location as their style was something we both admire. The next morning I informed the hosts, Aki and Miyuki, that I was just about to propose to Mira. Miyuki excitedly arranged a bouquet of freshly picked flowers, and I set up Aki with my camera from a secret window to record the event. Mira and I were packing our bags to checkout and I said "Ah, we haven't finished playing Millionaire". I said "but there's no TV in the bedroom, so we'll play outside instead". I took Mira out in front of the glorious view and asked her to close her eyes. I gave her the bouquet of flowers in one hand, and knelt in front of her presenting a diamond. With her eyes still closed, I said, "The final million dollar question is ... Will you marry me?". She opened her eyes and I said "Answer A: Yes", "B: No", "C: Go to hell" (but in worse language) and "D: I need to ask my Mum". She said "Lock in answer A!".

The Wedding Story

Three days after leaving Ninderry Manor, we were on the plane to Slovakia to meet Mira's family and to have a European Wedding. After many weeks of greeting and sightseeing, we started to do the preparations for the wedding - visiting many castles and organising paperwork. It was a long, bureaucratic process and we became very frustrated by the limitations on where we could marry and the level of authentication required. It got also tricky because Mira's parents insisted on paying for everything, which made us feel restricted. The wedding began to lose its oomph.

Luxor Pyramid hotel Then one night, dispiritedly we joked "let's just go to America and get married". The joke developed into a vision so romantic that we became serious about it and decided to "just do it". We got all excited about the wedding again, made our plans, worked out a way to break it softly to Mira's parents and took off in a matter of days on our wedding/honeymoon adventure! We flew to Los Angeles, drove up to San Francisco via the stunning coastline and then caught a plane over to Las Vegas. And before you ask, no, we didn't want an Elvis/Marilyn wedding.

We arrived without a booking at the huge Luxor pyramid hotel and took possession of a large suite with a big spa and lounge room. Tomorrow we would be getting married - it was hard to believe. We went an obtained a license to marry, and checked out the wedding chapels, thinking if they were good enough for Britney, they'd be good enough for us. But we didn't like them at all. We then checked out some of the chapels in the hotels, and had a good feeling about the one in the hotel we were staying at - so we booked it for 6pm, next day.

We woke up exhausted, and both of us still had the flu. A lot had to be done today - buy some formal clothes, hair, nails, makeup, learn to waltz, even attend a timeshare apartment sales talk we'd been conned into.

Bridal Dance The day didn't start well. I spent 2 hours on the phone finding out why our bank account back in Australia was locked. Not today, please. Maybe the bank knew we were going to a sales talk? Behind schedule. Off to the mall to buy the full outfit for me and a nice evening dress for Mira. We parted to rejoin in 60 minutes. I came back with trousers, jacket, shirt, bow tie, shoes and belt, Mira came back with nothing, and not because she was picky - they simply didn't have any dresses there.

In the taxi - bonus tip for fast driving, off to the taxi-driver's choice of wedding-gown hire shops. I waited in the taxi, Mira finally emerged with the wedding dress, shoes, tiara, and veil. Back to the hotel at 2pm for Mira's hair/nails/makeup appointments. I prepared myself back in the hotel room and discussed some vows with the mirror, then took myself and the rings down to the chapel. I met the photographer, asking him to make sure the 60 odd empty chairs didn't appear in the photographs. I also met the minister whom I waited with until the big French doors opened.

In she came, she was amazing. The dress was spectacular, her hair was fairytale, her walking pace was very fast. Was she on a skateboard? No, just nerves. She arrived to the front before I had a chance to admire anything else. The minister did his bit, I said my vows, Mira said hers, bla bla and then the photographer played with us for a while. We then had a fantastic dinner at a super expensive Italian Steakhouse in the hotel complex (where else would you take your new (vegetarian) bride?).

Then we went for a bit of a glamour trip around the hotel, still in our wedding attire, lapping up the attention. With the aid of a miniature tripod, we took lots of portraits against the Egyptian backdrops. And that's about it (well not really but that'll do). What a day!

We both wish you all the best,

Simon & Mira

Guests of the Month : November 04 : March 05 : May 05 - 1 :
: May 05 - 2 : June 05