britney Spears and jason trawick kissingBritney Spears is engaged! Her longtime boyfriend (and former manager) Jason Trawick popped the question last night on his birthday, and reportedly, the two will be celebrating in Vegas tonight! Awww. As we all know, this will be Brit's third marriage (second, uh, "legit" one, as the first was a strange 48-hour affair, if you recall), but it seems like these two have serious staying power. I'm also kind of a big fan of their engagement story.

After all, it really wasn't much of a surprise at all ... Sources around Britney say she knew it was coming, was aware of him having the ring, etc. They told Us Weekly, "This is something they've both wanted for a long time." So it probably wasn't much of a surprise when he actually got down on one knee. But so what?

Proposals don't have to be a big surprise to be special.

We tend to think of the conventional proposal as one that catches the bride-to-be completely off-guard. But sometimes, it just doesn't work out that way. You might know it's coming at any moment or even have it narrowed down to the exact day, kinda like Britney. Maybe they even knew that their S.O. was going to ask on their anniversary or when they went on that one vacation. That's actually how it played out for a couple married friends of mine. One knew it was happening on her anniversary. (She just wasn't in on the details of how he'd propose.) Another had a hunch it was going to happen when they went to Hawaii.

Some women even stalk down every last clue to try to figure out when and where it's going to happen. Another friend of mine was super suspicious on her fifth anniversary, and was like a hawk, crazy-analyzing every last move her boyfriend (now husband) made that day.  

Clearly, some of us could care less about a surprise proposal. And that's okay! In all of these cases, as I'm sure in Brit's, the lack of a "wait, what???!" element doesn't take anything away from the magic of the moment. If anything, it might be a plus in some ways, because when you're not caught off-guard, you're more aware of what's happening and able to enjoy it. (Just a thought ...)

The bottom line for Brit Brit is that she's been wanting this for a while, and now, she and Jason will be able to "cement their family." Couldn't be happier for these two ... and for any bride who was clued in about her proposal, but still over the moon about saying "I do." 

Was your proposal a surprise, or if you're not married yet, would you want a surprise proposal? Do you agree a proposal doesn't have to be a surprise to be special?

 

Image via Kevin Winter/Getty