help with proposal! (those who know SF/napa, come in!)

[HappyNewLife]

OK Ladies, we are all girls here and want "the perfect proposal"... I am trying to figure out how to do this perfectly as well for my girl. A couple things to note-- I''m a girl, I''m the girly one. I''m the one that loves chocolate/champagne/sweet gestures. She''s--- not so much. She doesn''t care about any sweets at all and doesn''t really like wine/champagne (but said wine tasting would be fun, so I''m going with it anyway). She''s a VERY private person and a proposal absolutely needs to be private (no photos, no people staring, no intercom announcements). Gulp, I don''t even know if she will like the ring, but too late-- I already have it

Anyway, we are taking a trip to San Francisco at the end of June. It happens to be during gay pride weekend-- fun! On the Fri before the festivities start I asked her if I could plan some stuff for us and she agreed. I''ve rented a car, and here is my plan so far:

11am-- head out to Napa, pick up picnic supplies, picnic at Bartholomew Park Winery, wine tasting
3ish-- head to another winery for one more tasting (Scribe winery is my thought)
4:30ish-- head back to SF, get cleaned up at the hotel
6:30-8:30-- sunset cruise on a boat around SF bay w/ appetizers and drinks
9p-- dinner somewhere? where?

is this just too busy? and uh, where in all this do I propose? Earlier in the day so the rest of the day can be celebration? At the end of the night in the hotel w/ a massage (I could slip the ring on her finger when massaging her hand?)? She might pass out on me though, LOL.

HELP.

Did I mention HELP?

I SUCK at this. seriously.

 

[AnneTossy]

Hm.. that sounds like a lot for one day!! Maybe cut it back to just the first winery??

I love the idea of doing it on the sunset cruise....that way you can celebrate even more at dinner! Plus the sunset cruise will be the perfect backdrop for a proposal. I''m not from SF so I don''t really have any recomendations when it comes to places to go, but I know I would LOVE all of the thought you''re putting into all this. You''re really going out of your way to make this special and I hope it goes REALLY REALLY well for you! Good luck!

 

[elrohwen]

It sounds like a bit much. Traffic from Napa can be a pain, so I''d plan on only going to the one winery.

Personally, I would say to propose earlier in the day and spend the rest of the time celebrating. You might be so nervous that you won''t be able to enjoy the rest of the day if you wait until evening. Most wineries have grounds to walk around and you could propose there during the picnic. Even if there are a few other people around it won''t be too public and most people will stay out of your business.

Or you could do it at the hotel. That''s extremely intimate and private, then you get to go out and celebrate on the boat cruise.

 

[HappyNewLife]

thanks ladies-- one winery it is!

(for all I know, it could be 95* in napa that weekend anyway... sigh)

 

[KittyGolightly]

Date: 4/29/2010 5:08:09 PM
Author: elrohwen

. Most wineries have grounds to walk around and you could propose there during the picnic. Even if there are a few other people around it won''t be too public and most people will stay out of your business.

I think this is a great idea. If you go this route, you should think about calling ahead and letting the winery know. They should be able to tell you the perfect romantic spot on their grounds.

 

[oddoneout]

I like the idea of sneaking off to somewhere private at the winery. That way it involves just the two of you. Like others have mentioned that way you could celebrate the rest of the day. Good luck. It sounds romantic.

 

[merilenda]

Unfortunately I don''t know much about SF, so I don''t have specific suggestions. But I want to tell you that my BF and I spent the weekend in a winery town a year or two ago. We stayed at this bed & breakfast, and it was one of the most romantic weekends we''ve had together! So I think Napa would be an incredibly romantic place for a proposal! In terms of where you should do it...hmm. If it were me, I''d want the proposal fairly early in the day/weekend. But I''d want to enjoy being engaged for as long as possible on our trip, and I''m a lightweight.

 

[rierie26]

Congratulations! You might be able to do more than one winery depending on how much time you plan on taking at each one and how close they are to each other. Just remember that June is in the middle of tourist season here and it tends to get crowded, ESPECIALLY during Pride week and most people will drive up to Napa/Sonoma as well, so there will be a lot of traffic and other people at the wineries.

What were you thinking for dinner? Super expensive/midrange/trendy/romantic/casual? There''s lots of really great restaurants in Napa and Sonoma, so depending on what you have your heart set on, you wouldn''t even have to go back to the City if you want to spend more time touring the wineries.

Spendy to midspendy, but worth it in Napa/Sonoma:
-French Laundry, booked for months but legendary
-Bouchon
-Etoile at Domaine Chandon

Spendy to midspendy in the City:
-Gary Danko, again legendary
-Masa''s
-Frascati, located between Nob and Russian Hill on the Hyde cable car line. This neighborhood and restaurant is so cute and romantic at night. The cable car passes right by it, some of the trees are strewn with x-mas lights, it''s hilly and is a mix of residential and small shops and restaurants.

Good luck!