How''s this idea?

[Lestat]

What do you think?

So I''ve booked this penthouse room for a surprise couple days away, one of which is our 1 year Anniversary on which I''d like to propose.

The little details need filling in, all suggestions are welcome, but here''s the basic outline... On the day before our Anniversary, I''ll drive us there, we''ll have a nice afternoon out at the local Sunday markets, browsing shops, maybe lunch or dinner out at a nice restaurant, and I''ll suprise her by taking her to the nice apartment for the evening. On the second day, I''d like to do something fun, relaxing, and different, so far I''ve found this river snorkelling 1/2 day trip which would be lovely because we both love swimming and it''s something out of the ordinary. Swimming in the ocean will probably be out, because it''ll be jellyfish season, so a float down the river might be nice. Afterwards, maybe a drive out to a nice walk or just hanging around in town or at the beach. We''ll have to get cleaned up somewhere before dinner.

I''m hoping to plan a rooftop candlelight catered dinner at the penthouse in the evening, hopefully with some roses and some soft jazz or classical music playing in the background. After dinner maybe a nice spa bath for two, we get into our nice soft robes, head upstairs for the beautiful view and I break out a box of chocolates... Which happens to be a custom Chocogram with the following message made of chocolates (with the name in place of course, removed for privacy):

 

[enigma27407]

Oh wow.......that idea is wonderful. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Lestat]

Thanks Enigma, I hope she likes it! I''m hoping some others will chime in as well to share their opinions, the more people who comment, the safer I''ll feel

By the way, I like your idea too, the scavenger hunt sounds great, in the stickied proposal thread at the top of this sub-forum, one of the posters did an amazing race proposal and put most of it on Youtube, you might want to have a watch of that and see if there''s anything you could use in there!

 

[TooPatient]

So romantic. The snorkeling is a great personal touch.

My one suggestion would be that you propose at the start of dinner. Maybe have the chocolates at the table when you get there. That way she isn''t too tired to enjoy it. You can have the dinner & spa to celebrate and enjoy being engaged.
Also, you might get a regular box of chocolates too. So she has one to keep (I would NEVER eat the special box) and one to eat.

 

[Lestat]

Interesting suggestion TooPatient, although it might be a bit awkward to put in action... I get the point about the proposal possibly happening too late though, once we''re just too tired. Maybe I should try to start things around 6pm so we don''t go too late... I was just thinking of surprising her with the special box of chocolate sometime after dinner (right after dinner would probably not work, because we would have just eaten a light dessert, which is why I thought maybe after a bit of time), once we''ve had an amazing day. Before or after dinner? If before, how to do it so that it''s not awkward and unromantic? It seems a bit too fast to just walk in the door and drop on one knee if you know what I mean.

Maybe the chocolates should be with the dessert at the meal? My original thought was after dinner, a bit later in the evening when we''ve both had a chance to unwind and relax, maybe after a nice candlelight spa bath for two. The added plus to me with that idea is that we''d be alone, the bathrobe would have pockets to hide a ring, and chocolates in the evening while enjoying the view or relaxing together seems to work well. Maybe there''s another point in the day where I should be proposing??

The other worry I''ve got plaguing my mind is that after we do the snorkelling, we''ll need to get cleaned up somehow, and that timing may interfere with dinner, basically the caterers will need to come in and set up, so it would be nice to arrive back at the apartment and have the candles and flowers leading upstairs to the table with the chef and dinner happening. It would kill the mood if we walked in and saw that setup and then had to shower & change!

I guess we could do the snorkelling in the morning, we''d probably be finished mid afternoon sometime and then we could hopefully shower & change before any setup starts at the apartment, then just go wandering around the beautiful sights for the afternoon until we arrive home to the surprise dinner. I''d have to think of a way to get her back home without stopping at a restaurant for dinner though... I''d just like everything to flow smoothly, I''m just hoping for clear skies and that she doesn''t say NO to a box of chocolates!

 

[TooPatient]

Date: 12/9/2009 1:36:07 AM
Author: Lestat
Interesting suggestion TooPatient, although it might be a bit awkward to put in action... I get the point about the proposal possibly happening too late though, once we''re just too tired. Maybe I should try to start things around 6pm so we don''t go too late... I was just thinking of surprising her with the special box of chocolate sometime after dinner (right after dinner would probably not work, because we would have just eaten a light dessert, which is why I thought maybe after a bit of time), once we''ve had an amazing day. Before or after dinner? If before, how to do it so that it''s not awkward and unromantic? It seems a bit too fast to just walk in the door and drop on one knee if you know what I mean.

Maybe the chocolates should be with the dessert at the meal? My original thought was after dinner, a bit later in the evening when we''ve both had a chance to unwind and relax, maybe after a nice candlelight spa bath for two. The added plus to me with that idea is that we''d be alone, the bathrobe would have pockets to hide a ring, and chocolates in the evening while enjoying the view or relaxing together seems to work well. Maybe there''s another point in the day where I should be proposing??

The other worry I''ve got plaguing my mind is that after we do the snorkelling, we''ll need to get cleaned up somehow, and that timing may interfere with dinner, basically the caterers will need to come in and set up, so it would be nice to arrive back at the apartment and have the candles and flowers leading upstairs to the table with the chef and dinner happening. It would kill the mood if we walked in and saw that setup and then had to shower & change!

I guess we could do the snorkelling in the morning, we''d probably be finished mid afternoon sometime and then we could hopefully shower & change before any setup starts at the apartment, then just go wandering around the beautiful sights for the afternoon until we arrive home to the surprise dinner. I''d have to think of a way to get her back home without stopping at a restaurant for dinner though... I''d just like everything to flow smoothly, I''m just hoping for clear skies and that she doesn''t say NO to a box of chocolates!

Snorkeling earlier in the morning and being cleaned up in time to have lunch (out) and wander around would probably work pretty well for timing.

Getting back instead of stopping for dinner would be a challenge. Maybe you could "spill" something on yourself and need to go back to change "before going out to dinner".

Chocolates before dinner or with dessert would make much more sense. You''d also avoid getting her hopes up with the great dinner and then having it not happen. (once she thinks the moment has passed and you aren''t going to do it, the rest of the evening could be spoiled for her -- look at past threads in this section for some good thoughts on this)
Don''t be shocked if she doesn''t eat the chocolates. I know if it were me I''d want to keep them forever.

 

[havernell]

I like your plan but have one little suggestion.

When my husband proposed to me, my favorite part was actually hearing *him* say "Will you marry me?" To me, it just wouldn''t have been as personal if I had to read the question rather than hear him ask me.

So, you can still do the chocolates if you want, but please, please, please say "Will you marry me" as she is also reading it in the box. Or, skip the chocolates all together and just ask her directly. I think it will mean a lot to her to hear those words coming out of your mouth!

Best of luck with the whole proposal trip!!

 

[Lestat]

Date: 12/10/2009 11:47:15 AM
Author: havernell
I like your plan but have one little suggestion.

When my husband proposed to me, my favorite part was actually hearing *him* say ''Will you marry me?'' To me, it just wouldn''t have been as personal if I had to read the question rather than hear him ask me.

So, you can still do the chocolates if you want, but please, please, please say ''Will you marry me'' as she is also reading it in the box. Or, skip the chocolates all together and just ask her directly. I think it will mean a lot to her to hear those words coming out of your mouth!

Best of luck with the whole proposal trip!!

Most definitely I''ll be giving a mini-speech of all her wonderful qualities and how perfect she makes every day of my life before asking the big question myself!

The box of chocolates is just to get things rolling and distract her while I get down on one knee

I''ll probably start talking while she''s opening the box so she can''t answer straight away.

I''m leaning towards chocolates with dessert (the chef is going to attempt her favorite Japanese dessert, so at least if they fail miserably that''ll be a good excuse for the chocolates anyway haha), so I''m hoping by that stage of the day she''ll just be going along with things and that when I take out the chocolates she''ll happily just go with it. I agree that she probably won''t eat them, so the extra sweets are a good idea! Can''t go wrong with too much chocolate!

Thank you all for the good wishes, I''m anxiously waiting for the day to arrive! It''s going to be a hard wait till the big day!

 

[Lestat]

A request for some help and an update for anyone who''s interested

The ring is here! The penthouse is booked, I''ve managed to get another day off work so I''ve added a 3rd night there so we can relax and enjoy it more. The weather isn''t really looking too great for our time there, so I thought an extra day might help us get at least some sunlight. Also, with the chance of rain being very high (it''s just starting rainy season here), I had to reject the snorkelling idea unfortunately, they would only rebook if it was rained out, so there was a chance the day might be spoiled with rain and we''d have no plan.

Instead, I''ve found a great day spa and booked us their signature 3 hour couples treatment including a far infa-red sauna, then body exfoliation washed off with a Vichy shower, then full body massage and facial treatment before having some relaxation time together with some nice tropical drinks and a light fruit platter. My girlfriend is a massage therapist, she also loves to have massages, and she''s mentioned always wanting to try a Vichy shower before, so I thought I''d surprise her

I made sure that she''ll have a good therapist, the lady who''s doing her massage treatments has over 20 years experience and is a qualified remedial therapist.

After relaxing for a while, we''ll get dressed to "go out for dinner" but I''ll take her back to our room for the surprise catered dinner. If it''s raining, they''ll set it up inside on or near the balcony, but if the weather is good, we''ll be on the rooftop (still hoping for good weather!). I''ve got the special box of chocolates ordered and the hotel manager will take care of them for me before they''re needed, I''ve ordered them a few days early so they can check them to make sure they''ve arrived without melting, and if they''ve been damaged I''ll have some time to figure out an alternative!

My plan gets a bit hazy around this point... Help! We''ll have dinner, and then??? I''m thinking when to give the chocolates... So far I think it might be best to give them before the chef gives us our dessert (I can let them know about the timing), so that when she opens them, and I propose, we can eat dessert instead of the chocolates lol! I''m also wondering how to do it smoothly... After we have our dinner maybe I can stand up to hand her the chocolates and as she''s opening them start talking about how special she is and how much she means to me. Then when she opens the box, I''ll drop to my knee and pull out the ring (it''ll be hot so no jacket, dress pants aren''t baggy enough to hide a box, where can I hide the ring???) and ask her the big question. I''ll have to be quick so I can get the question out before she reads the chocolates and answers without me asking!

Only 8 days to go!

 

[TooPatient]

Date: 1/17/2010 7:09:37 AM
Author: Lestat
A request for some help and an update for anyone who''s interested

The ring is here! The penthouse is booked, I''ve managed to get another day off work so I''ve added a 3rd night there so we can relax and enjoy it more. The weather isn''t really looking too great for our time there, so I thought an extra day might help us get at least some sunlight. Also, with the chance of rain being very high (it''s just starting rainy season here), I had to reject the snorkelling idea unfortunately, they would only rebook if it was rained out, so there was a chance the day might be spoiled with rain and we''d have no plan.

Instead, I''ve found a great day spa and booked us their signature 3 hour couples treatment including a far infa-red sauna, then body exfoliation washed off with a Vichy shower, then full body massage and facial treatment before having some relaxation time together with some nice tropical drinks and a light fruit platter. My girlfriend is a massage therapist, she also loves to have massages, and she''s mentioned always wanting to try a Vichy shower before, so I thought I''d surprise her

I made sure that she''ll have a good therapist, the lady who''s doing her massage treatments has over 20 years experience and is a qualified remedial therapist.

After relaxing for a while, we''ll get dressed to ''go out for dinner'' but I''ll take her back to our room for the surprise catered dinner. If it''s raining, they''ll set it up inside on or near the balcony, but if the weather is good, we''ll be on the rooftop (still hoping for good weather!). I''ve got the special box of chocolates ordered and the hotel manager will take care of them for me before they''re needed, I''ve ordered them a few days early so they can check them to make sure they''ve arrived without melting, and if they''ve been damaged I''ll have some time to figure out an alternative!

My plan gets a bit hazy around this point... Help! We''ll have dinner, and then??? I''m thinking when to give the chocolates... So far I think it might be best to give them before the chef gives us our dessert (I can let them know about the timing), so that when she opens them, and I propose, we can eat dessert instead of the chocolates lol! I''m also wondering how to do it smoothly... After we have our dinner maybe I can stand up to hand her the chocolates and as she''s opening them start talking about how special she is and how much she means to me. Then when she opens the box, I''ll drop to my knee and pull out the ring (it''ll be hot so no jacket, dress pants aren''t baggy enough to hide a box, where can I hide the ring???) and ask her the big question. I''ll have to be quick so I can get the question out before she reads the chocolates and answers without me asking!

Only 8 days to go!

How''d it go? What did she say?

Congratulations?!?!

 

[peaches5]

Hope it went well... what was the final plan for the proposal?