JFF~ How Did Your Husband/so Propose?

We lived in Phoenix. He hiked up South Mountain to a place that had stone benches early in the morning. Later he asked me to hike with him on South Mountain. There were the roses and an official proposal.

We spent an amazing day together with a group of friends in NYC, back when we used to live in the city. He brought his guitar to central park and sang brown eyed girl to me and then at night we did a circle line dinner/dance cruise. He had friends in on it, and even the captain of the ship. He knew I would not want his proposal in front of everyone (too intimate and even though I am not shy, it was a private and special moment). He proposed to me on a deck of the ship that had been cleared and had a dozen roses a friend had snuck onto the boat for him, and got down on his knee and asked. Then we came back in and were announced, given a toast and danced and the rest as they say, is history. That was September 5, 1998...

He put Burma shave style signs down the side of a four lane highway on my way home and waited in a tux with flowers and a ring at the end.

We were in the middle of an argument and I was threatening to leave, and he blurted out, " will you marry me?" I said, " of course not, we aren't even being friends right now!" This was after he served me really bad chips (fries) for dinner.

To fill in, I had gone to visit hubby and we were in the middle of a truly fabulous driving tour of Ireland. That night we got into a bit of a fight over where to eat for dinner. I was being difficult, and then he got frustrated, took me to a chip shop, and then I got really mad. I was drunk, did I mention that?

A few days later, however, in one of the most lovely cities in Ireland, I did throw my arms around him and ask him to marry me. I knew I'd marry him the first day I met him. He asked to hold my hand, he knew the songs from My Fairy lady, he knew a lot of stuff, and he was sweet.

He was planning on proposing to me, and had asked his mom about buying me a ring. She told him to let me pick it out. Needless to say, 12.5 years later, I still don't' have a ring! But I have a terrific guy, and three great kids.

Our proposal was perfect. I don't do public or extravagant. Feisty I do ;-)

M.,

My husband proposed over the Atlantic ocean on our way back to Germany. We met in Germany. We had flown back to the U.S. for a wedding of a friend and to meet each other's families.

I was asleep. He nudged me awake. I was none too pleased!! LOL!! He opened the window and the sun was coming up...he asked how I thought the trip went...fine...how did you like my family? fine. great. (I was a tad pissy because I was asleep!! LOL!! so my answers were quick).

he said "No really. What did you think of the trip?"
Me - "it was wonderful"
Him "okay, so what do you think of me?"
me - "huh? what do you mean?"
him "what do you think of me?"
me "I think you're wonderful."
him "really?".
me "yes. really"
him stretching to reach pocket "wonderful enough to marry?"
shows me ring in box. "will you marry me?"
me - YES!!

He had already told the flight attendants - they were paying attention and had champagne for us...

Going on 17 years this October.

We were on a trip, a summer weekend in the mountains. We had been dating for two and a half years. I said, you know, I'm not really interested in dating forever, are we gonna get married or what?
I had a ring on my finger within the month and we were married a few months after that. We eloped because we wanted to use our money towards buying a condo, not paying for a wedding. I got pregnant right away.
Not very romantic but hey, here we are, three kids and twenty one years later!

he took me out to a fancy dinner. i was sort of expecting it, so a little surprised when he paid the bill and we left. then, in the dark parking garage, sitting in the dang car, he pulled the ring out of the glove compartment and asked me, very sweetly.
what a doof.
for the record, he has WAY improved on his romanticism since then.
;)
but it was still pretty wonderful!
khairete
S.

While in bed together doing pillow talk, in the pitch dark. He kept chatting and chatting, and I just wanted to go to sleep. He asked, I smiled, but failed to answer. Seeing as how it was pitch dark, he waited, what must have been a small eternity before mustering up the courage to prompt, "you haven't answered."

Every so often, we replay the scene, whereby, he asks me a question, and I deliberately smile, but fail to speak an answer.

Not roses and champagne, but somehow right nonetheless.

Best,
F. B.

My husband planned a snowmobiling trip for the two of us for New Years. This wasn't out of the ordinary as we went sledding a lot, but usually with a group of people but I was kind of excited about it just being the two of us. We went to a quaint little town with great snowmobiling and fun evening restaurants/bars (a place neither of us had ever been). New Years Eve day we were out on a ride and he was a big hill climber and I was more of a trail rider so he kept going up hills and doing some climbing. He came down one and said "you've got to go up this one, it's beautiful". So I did and he was right! It had an amazing view and a beautiful tree up top in a clearing that was iced over that made it look like it was glass. We parked the sleds under it and I was getting my helmet and gloves off and getting the camera out to take pics and he walks over to my sled and got to one knee and asked for my hand in marriage. It was perfect!!!!! He had packed a bottle of champagne and lunch in his backpack so we toasted and ate lunch up on that hill under that tree. He told me how he had asked both my Dad and my Mom (since they had been divorced since I was 4) for permission to marry me.

My first husband proposed at the top of the Log Ride at Knott's Berry Farm in CA. As we were going up the hill, it's pitch black and he apparently had the ring out and was waving it in front of my face as he was saying things like, "are you ready to take the plunge? and are you ready for a wild ride with me" and then right at the top when the ride pops out into the daylight, I saw the ring and he yelled, "will you marry me??!!" After the shock wore off, I was so upset he could have easily dropped the ring and we likely would have never found it! lol The whole rest of the day, word spread, and people would say, "OMG! Are you guys the ones that got engaged on the Log Ride??!!!"

My second husband was not too original but it was sweet none the least. It was a Friday and we were planning on going to dinner at a "nicer" restaurant. He actually invited my mom to go to, which I wish he didn't, and gave the ring to the server. The whole staff was excited so they ran out to the garden and picked flowers, put the ring with the flowers and dessert on a big plate and brought it out after we were done eating. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. My mom didn't know either, but she grabbed her camera so we got some pics of it. Although I knew he had my ring on lay-away, that prior Monday we had just got back from a cruise, which is when I thought he would propose. So when he didn't, it was not even a thought that he would that night so I did not even see it coming. =0)

My husband had a catalogue of merchandise from the movie "The Crow". In it was a sterling silver ring that has engraved on it "Real Love is Forever". He showed it to me and asked "How about this?". I said that looks good. Not too long after was the San Diego Comic Book Convention. We spent the entire time asking every merchant looking for the ring. Sold out, wrong size, didn't have it. As they are announcing that the con is about to close we ask the merchant. He's pretty sure he has it in the size I needed. Sure enough he did. It was paid for, I put it on and that was it. Very low key.
I didn't get a diamond until we were picking out wedding bands about a month or less before the wedding. I could not wear that ring and our wedding ring together. I got it just to wear it with my wedding ring.
All the hoopla would have bugged me.

He took me to the ocean (when we didn't live nearby it).
Went to a nice resaurant (not the overly expensive kind) overlooking the
ocean.
During dinner at sunset, he just brought out the ring & very nervously
asked me if I'd marry him. I didn't ever really realize what was happening.
Very sweet. Nothing extravagant but very cute.
I love the ocean even more because of it.

It wasn't a proposal, it was a mutual decision. We are very pragmatic romantics, I suppose-- our love languages don't really include grand gestures inasmuch as daily kindnesses and considerations. (We had a handfast blowout ceremony in '04 and a small legal wedding with friends and family in '09.) I think, since we'd both been previously married, it wasn't a question of 'cold feet' -- it was more like wading into deep water slowly, then really understanding that you can rely on that other person not to let you sink.

So, no proposal moment, but so many good moments and stories from our life together. The first day we ever spent together says it all: a walk in the woods, reading poetry to each other in a clearing, discovering we both loved kung fu movies, making ahi and veggies for dinner and winding up the evening watching "Master Killer". That's sort of set the tone of our relationship! Doing simple things we enjoy, together.

We had picked out the ring together, I knew it was coming, but he still wanted to surprise me and make it special.

Now keep in mind, he proposed on July 10, it is hotter than h@!! in KS in July!!!

He took me to the park and wanted to go for a walk, I honestly had no clue what he was planning because I was so confused about going for a walk when it was 110 degrees. He found a nice bench had me sit down and got down on his knee, etc. Very Sweet.

M

A simple text message "When are we going ring shopping?".
I was completely surprised because I was sat in work and certainly not expecting a proposal.

Well to start my story off, what I didn't know was that my husband had called my Dad, before he planned out how to ask me, to say that he wanted to marry me and ask his permission. I found that amusing as my family is not particularly formal, but it was a very sweet notion.
We were living together. I had gotten home from work, on a Thursday night, and I was TIRED. It was November and it was probably around 6ish, so it was dark out.
He got home and said he wanted to go out to Malabar Farm a state park that was over an hour away. It was a common wedding destination, and somewhere that people go to just walk around. I had never been there, and I was super tired and really just wanted to take a nap. I told him no, and we could go on the weekend. (I didn't know that I was disrupting his plans with my reaction) He kept saying that he wanted to take a walk.
Finally I said we could go over to our favorite metro-park and walk around the lake. He agreed.
We went out, it was a mild November night, cool, but not cold. The sky was super clear, and out at the metro-park we were away from the city lights and were able to see a lot of the stars. No one else was out that night, so it was kind of private.
We sat down on a bench just in front of the lake and talked for a while. (taking walks were not uncommon for us really, so there was no reason to suspect anything was going on) While we were sitting there a shooting star flashed across the sky. It was beautiful. He asked me if I made a wish, and I said, "sure, just that life would always work out and be happy." Then I asked him if he made a wish and he said, "That you would say 'yes' to being my wife." and I turned to look at him and he had the ring out.
Nature was working in his favor that night! I still don't understand why he didn't just wait until the weekend though. I guess he just got impatient. hahaha! Worked out well though.

We just talked about it for years and finally we planned something together. There was no proposal. We just both knew. We lived together for 7 years through graduate school. I am pretty anti traditional wedding....I see it as a huge waste of money. I am not that sentimental. I didn't need a fancy proposal. I did not want a dress that you wear once. I didn't even want a diamond ring. We designed our own rings and had a friend make them. I think I am not the norm. We have been together 20 years and are VERY happily married! I totally lucked out in life!

For a very different answer... we didn't really have a formal proposal that I can remember. I met him in Tanzania while doing research for my graduate degree, and after knowing each other for a year, when I was going to be returning to the US in another 6 months, I brought up the question of what we were going to do about the relationship. Long distance was not an option, in my mind. He decided he was willing to try coming to the US, and my parents were willing to sponsor him to finish a college degree here. Rings aren't part of his cultural tradition, however I said that if he was going to move 6000 miles so we could be together, we better think of this relationship as more serious than boyfriend-girlfriend, and I'd love to have a gold ring from Tanzania. So, I went and looked at a bunch of rings in the goldsmith shops, settled on a very small one, and he bought it with the equivalent of 3 months' salary.

As for the actual 'set a date to get married,' that timing was determined by when he was finishing his college degree and would need to move to some other kind of visa status in order to stay in the US. Once again, it was me saying 'you know, in the next 6 months to a year, you won't be able to be here on a student visa, so we probably should get married and get the process of your permanent residency started...'

Short answer... I guess I proposed to him. Both scenarios really fit my personality (and his, actually)--we're not Big Moment people. And we've been together since 1994, so I guess it works for us :)

Private beach in Laguna Niguel. He spelled "marry me" in the sand with tea lights. It was beautiful and somewhat of a grand gesture but it as private and just the 2 of us.
Yesterday I was reading in Glamour magazine and they referenced kim Kardashian and Kanye West proposal at the ball field where the giants play with fireworks and an orchestra and the proposal on the jumbotron with catered food and attendants and on and on. Anyway only 30% of women want the extravagance. 70% want special BUT intimate.

Honestly, I probably would have liked a more grand gesture although his proposal was very sweet. He wanted to propose to me somewhere outside (at least he knew that I would not have wanted to be proposed to at dinner), his speech wasn't very rehearsed (was anyone else's?), but it was nice. Im kind of in a grouchy mood today so its hard for me to talk about anything sweet right now :-/

Well we had my dad and stepmom come up for a visit. We went to dinner and my (then) SO was acting weird, but I didn't think anything of it. We got back and all went to bed. About 10 min later he asked me to go get my dad, so I did. They got up and came into the living room and he asked my dad and when dad said okay, he turned around with the ring.....it was so cute.

Had been dating my (then) boyfriend for about 10 months and he had told me that he didn't want to get engaged until he'd met my family. We lived on the East Coast and they lived on the West Coast. So two months later, we both flew to Washington State so he could meet my parents. My mom picked us up at the airport and we got to visit for a couple of hours. My dad worked evenings at a hospital and didn't get home until nearly 10 p.m., so we only visited with him about 15 minutes that first evening (three-hour time difference -- we were ready for some sleep!)

My SO had never been to the Pacific Northwest and when I asked him if there was anything in particular he wanted to see, he mentioned he'd always heard how pretty the Columbia River Gorge is, so the next morning we were heading to Multnomah Falls. Stopped in The Dalles to meet up with some of my long-time friends. Anybody who knows the Gorge knows that the drive from Walla Walla, Washington, to The Dalles, Oregon is anything but pretty. He was visibly disappointed by the time we got there, but it gets much prettier after The Dalles. We had a picnic at Multnomah Falls, then all hiked to the top. Sat around up there visiting for an hour or so, then my SO very politely told my friends to "leave." (At least that's the way they tell the story.) After they left, we were standing alone at the top of Multnomah Falls looking out over the Gorge and he asked me to marry him.

I wasn't shocked that he asked me to marry him, but didn't expect it that soon. He said, "Well, I said 'After I meet your parents ...'" and I said, "Yes, but you spent all of 15 minutes with my dad last night and ate breakfast together this morning and that's it!"

We didn't even tell the friends we were with that we had gotten engaged because we wanted to tell our parents first. So we called them later that night (after our four-hour drive back to my parents' house)! But when we got married 10 months later, she was one of my bridesmaids, and he was the pastor who performed the ceremony!