Context: a girl from an upper class family has met the man her parents want
her to marry. At the end of the evening, she tells him:

> この度のご縁ありがたく思っております。

I get that this is a super polite way of saying thank you, but I don't quite
get what she is thanking him for. Something along the lines of "this wonderful
occasion/evening"?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-03T12:44:36.130
58326
2018-05-03T14:03:32.307
27499
question
meaning politeness
Understanding この度のご縁
> 「この度{たび}のご縁{えん}ありがたく思{おも}っております。」

From this sentence alone, one could **not** say that the speaker is thanking
the other man any more deeply than she is showing gratitude for the
opportunity to have been able to meet him.

If she were thanking any particular person(s), it would be everyone involved
(the guy, her parents, etc.).

> Something along the lines of "this wonderful occasion/evening"?

This "opportunity", perhaps, but certainly **_not_** "this evening". 「縁」 does
not refer to a particular time frame like "this evening".
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-03T14:03:32.307
58330
2018-05-03T14:03:32.307
58326
answer