New York (Manhattan) ideas?

[DennisFrogman]

Hello all,

I''d like to propose to my girlfriend during our trip to New York in 2 weeks and I''m in need of a little advice. I originally wanted to propose to her in Battery Park around or just after sunset for sentimental reasons. I''m sort of conflicted because I know she would not be ok with a big public to do so my plans would have to be flexible depending on the size of the crowd there.

So now I''m leaning toward doing it the Monday evening we''re there because we''ll be nice & dressed up (going to a show with some friends in the afternoon). The problem is we won''t be able to ditch them until after dark and the dinner plans. I started thinking about having some roses/candles/champagne delivered to the hotel while we''re out but I already know she will be tired by the time we get back and I''d like the moment to be a little more than

will you marry me
o.m.g. yes/no/maybe
ok good night

I am split about 60/40 that she''s going to mentally check-out once we get to the hotel (so it''s not a completely lost cause). So now I''m back to a detour to Battery Park or anywhere really between Broadway and South Manhattan (the hotel is right near the Brooklyn Bridge, fyi). I''m pretty much set on that evening because the formal wear (at least in her book) definitely gives me a boost for romance points.

So, after that long-winded background, does anybody have any suggestions for locations near the theater district or en route to the south of the island? Or any suggestions for a nice surprise at the hotel are also very welcome.

I have the ring in the safe and my lines down pat. It''s just this last bit remaining. Thanks for the help.

 

[diamondfan]

Spring in NY is pretty. What about on a horse drawn carriage ride? You can try to set it up to have champagne waiting while making it look kind of random, and there is privacy but you are out in the scenery. As long as the weather is nice that can be a nice choice.

 

[CNOS128]

Empire State Building''s open ''til 2am. If you pay like $12 extra per person, you can go into the enclosed part at the Very top where there are never any people. I love it up there... there are little nooks you can duck behind and look out the windows (you can actually feel it swaying if it''s windy). Might not be terribly romantic, depending on who you are, but I think it''s cool.

 

[DennisFrogman]

Thanks for the suggestions. We''ve done the carriage through Central Park before and while it was nice, we didn''t really leave with that "wow we have to do that again!" feeling.

I didn''t know about the enclosed part of the ESB. If it''s really that empty that might be perfect actually. She likes New York because of the big-city vibe (hot dog vendors, horns honking, skyscrapers, etc.). Thanks for the tip!

 

[baby monster]

How about on the Staten Island Ferry? You can go out on one of the decks where is more private and the views are spectacular!

If you''re not into boats, there is a nice promenade that runs along the Hudson from WFC to Battery Park. It''s very pretty at sunset.

 

[DennisFrogman]

Murphy''s law has me a bit paranoid about a boat or bridge (Brooklyn Bridge was one of my original options). I''ll definitely try to check out the promenade when we''re there.

Has anybody (or do you know anybody who has) dealt with getting a ring through security at ESB? I don''t want to get found out at the 11th hour.

Thanks for the pointers.

 

[CNOS128]

Date: 5/6/2008 3:44:27 PM
Author: DennisFrogman

Has anybody (or do you know anybody who has) dealt with getting a ring through security at ESB? I don''t want to get found out at the 11th hour.

That''s actually a good question. Will you have a bag or anything with you? I think they just x-ray or glance inside (can''t remember..) but you might not be able to sneak it in a pocket.
Ooh, I also just remembered that before you go up you can get one of those silly photos taken in front of NYC skyline backdrop and then purchase it on the way out if you like. That could be fun.

We were up on the (i think it''s 102nd floor) observatory tower (it''s actually $15 extra per person, since I just checked the website) at about 11:45pm one night in October, and we were literally the only people up there, aside from the elevator operator for about 30 seconds. It''s also kind of dimly lit.

Oh -- I also just searched the FAQ on the ESB website, and they say that people are fine getting past security w/ engagement rings.

 

[DennisFrogman]

D''oh, how did I miss the FAQs? That sounds like a really good idea, I think I''m going to shoot for the ESB and still have something nice ready at the hotel as a backup plan.

Thanks a lot for the advice.

 

[baby monster]

Ohhhh, just remembered that Ritz-Carlton by Battery Park has a nice bar with views of the harbor. Check it out

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/BatteryPark/Dining/Rise/Default.htm

 

[DennisFrogman]

Here''s my after-action report:

First of all thanks for all the suggestions and pointers. It wouldn''t be a plan if things didn''t change and I didn''t have to alter some things on the fly.

We stayed with her aunt in New Jersey and only had a hotel in the city for Saturday night. Her aunt is really cool (we stayed with her last time we were back east) and NY hotels are pricey; so I planned on proposing Saturday evening/night. After a decent amount of walking with our overnight bag from the Port Authority Bus Terminal to the train down to the hotel my feet started to ache a bit. There''s nothing like heavy walking in dress shoes. After dropping the bags off at the hotel (in the financial district) we headed back up to Broadway to see Chicago.

While riding the bus into the city, my girlfriend sees a huge street fair that she has to check out. So after the show we head West to 9th Ave and walk all 20-ish blocks of the darn thing. About a third of the way through it my feet are in excruciating pain. I last until about 17 blocks when I confess my pain; yet, we persevere on until the end of it. By now each step feels like death and I''m fighting like hell to stay in a good mood. I''m only a few hours from asking her to spend the rest of her life with me so there''s no way I can be in any sort of a bad mood. I''m a big military junkie so I''m reaching for inspiration from all the books I''ve read recently (namely about BUD/S training if you''re a fellow nerd). I''m not wet, not sandy, and not carrying a 100 lb. boat on my head, how can I not be in a great mood.

After the street fair we made our way over to the Empire State Building. As I anticipated, it was way too crowded to do it here, so we didn''t even bother to head up to the enclosed room. As a sidebar the "Express Passes" you can buy online for twice the price are well worth it. You never stand in any of the lines. We skipped the line to get into the building and walked right inside. We skipped the line to get up the escalator and went straight up to the second floor. We skipped the line to get through security and went to our own private security screener and we skipped the ticket line altogether. Not only did we get to skip the line to get up to the 80th floor, the workers stopped the flow of people into the elevator to let us on. The same was true of the elevator to get from the 80th floor to the 86th floor observatory. The people who got off the elevator at the same time as us said they had been waiting in line for three hours; we were up in about five minutes. And when we were done, we skipped both lines to get down the elevators. It''s hard to put into words how phenomenal the view is from up there; but honestly, skipping three hours worth of lines was about as much fun. Sorry for the long sidebar but it''s an understatement to say we were feeling pretty good when we left.

We went back to the hotel and changed into more comfortable clothes for dinner, a much needed relief for our feet. The plan was to walk around Battery Park for a little while before heading up to Little Italy for dinner. She is half Italian and we both love the food, the desserts, the stereotypical mafia movies, etc. She is slowly learning Italian, but I''ve been lazy with my Rosetta Stone courses. The trip to Battery Park worked out great because the weather was much better than it was on Friday, and it was the original place I wanted to propose. It''s been a special place for us since we stumbled across it during out last trip. It was a little after sunset by now, and it''s amazing how quiet and serene it is there. The view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island is amazing, as is how quiet the park is, even just steps from the street. My mind had been racing the entire way back from the ESB and I got us lost trying to find the park while holding a map the whole time. We walked for a few minutes until I found a spot that had few people around and I suggested we sit down for a second. By now I was terrified of saying a few sentences to the girlfriend I''ve had for the past seven and a half years (since the middle of high school). Despite my racing heart and a nervous shiver in my hands I got set up. I fished the ring out of the secret pocket in my pair of security-socks and turned on my phone''s mp3 player (Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman - Time to Say Goodbye). The music from the phone brought out a confused glance, we both love the song but the "mood music" was somewhat random. I held both of her hands and told her that I loved her, why I loved her, etc. When she saw part the ring in my hand she let out a stunned "Oh my god." It wasn''t the screaming you see in the movies, it was a more serious tone I can''t really describe. It made my adrenaline spike, my heart melt, and actually may have calmed me a bit. After the first lines I got down on one knee in front of her, showed her the ring, and delivered the rest, including the actual proposal in Italian. Thanks to the hours of practice I was able to remember all the words, but I can''t remember if I was able to keep my voice from shaking. After I finished she looked at me and said "is this the part where I''m supposed to say ''yes?''" Apparenlty her family gave her hell for that and teased her by convoluting it to "well I guess I should say ''yes''" and other variations. I find it hilarious and it fits perfectly with all the one-liners she has come up with over the years. To put it in a nutshell, that is why I love her so much. After a four-month long ring hunt and practicing my lines to that song hundreds of times, her response is "is this the part where I''m supposed to say ''yes?''" She couldn''t have answered any better in my opinion.

Hopefully that wasn''t too boring of a read. To wrap up, it''s going to be a long engagement, we won''t be setting a date for a while. Thanks again for the help and well-wishes. I have a couple of not-so-great pix of the ring on my phone. I''ll try to get them off and post soon.

 

[CNOS128]

Awww, I''m so glad things worked out so well for you. Your story made me a little misty-eyed. Congratulations - you''re gettin'' married!!