shape
carat
color
clarity

Proposal Thought - Anniversary

crr243

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Messages
63
Hey all,

I've taken the plunge and bought a ring for my girlfriend of 2 years. Now it's time to propose...

This is a pretty low pressure proposal. We've lived together for a year and now are considered Common Law spouses. We started talking about marriage at least 6 months ago and she's been bringing it up almost daily for the last month or so. Her family lives on the other side of the country, so I had "the talk" with them face-to-face when they were in town over Easter.

We head overseas on vacation at the end of next month. Originally, my plan was to propose while on vacation. I have since had a change of mindset.

Our "first date" anniversary was last week. Our "exclusive couple" anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks. I had the idea to propose on this anniversary date at the location of our "talk", and to combine a few aspects of our first few dates. I think this has a few benefits:

1. The date and location are more meaningful.
2. We have time to make sure the ring is properly sized before heading on vacation.
3. I won't spend the vacation eagerly anticipating the date, time, or situation of the proposal.
4. It will turn the vacation into the perfect pseudo-honeymoon.

The date of the proposal will be a workday week, so we'll be working during the day. The day before will be a day off work.

Some background:
- On our first date, I took her to the local zoo. We were both new to town and hadn't been, so it was a good way to see something new and gave quite a bit to talk about! When I picked her up, I brought a small bouquet of flowers.
- On our 3rd date, we went to dinner and a show (and by show, I mean a Broadway show). It was the first time we dressed up for a date and we went to see one of her favorite musicals, so it was very memorable.

The 2nd date was at a roller rink. The distances involved will make this hard to sneak in.

Day before (day off work)
- Visit the zoo to partially recreate date #1.

Day of proposal
- Subtly hint for her to wear a dress (she wears a dress to work once a week during the summer, so this isn't a long stretch.)
- Book the restaurant we went to on date #3 (already booked!).
- Send a bouquet of flowers similar to date #3 to her work, to be delivered in the afternoon, as a "Happy Anniversary" to recreate the start to that date.
- Surprise her at her office building as she leaves work.
- When she comes down, tell her that we have dinner plans as a surprise anniversary and suggest we go for a walk before dinner because "the only availability was fairly early, the restaurant is nearby, and we don't have time to go home" (only the availability will be a lie ;-) ).
- Walk to the area we first met (few blocks away!). Chat for a bit.
- Walk to the place were we had the "exclusivity" talk, which is also only a few minutes away. After a tear jerking speech, pull out the ring!
- Dinner at the restaurant from date #3 to celebrate. This is booked with what I think is sufficient time for us to compose ourselves before heading there.

She may start suspecting something with the flowers, though I've sent flowers to her work a few times in the last couple years. She'll definitely get suspicious when I surprise her at work and suspicion will continue to rise based on where I take her for a walk.

Note that I definitely do not want to propose at a restaurant.

Thoughts? Is this too simplistic, too corny, too predictable?
 

SirGuy

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 14, 2014
Messages
441
I like the consideration you've made about it. I can tell you've put a lot of thought into making it meaningful and special for both of you. :)

I agree that doing the proposal before the big vacation has its benefits. It keeps thing lower-stress, and allows you to start the vacation as a newly-engaged couple. I do agree that having pent-up nervous energy for the first part of the vacation might make things interesting.

However, what made me pause was that your proposal falls on a working day. Is the day after the planned proposal also a work day? I think it's cool that the day before is off work where'd you'd be able to take her to the zoo. But what if her work day is long and stressful? What if she's on a deadline and is worried about the next day's work? It could be a bum feeling to get engaged and then have to say or hear, "Oh, let's make sure we cut our celebrations off soon because I have to get up early for work tomorrow." :cry:

Something to consider could be doing those special things spread throughout the weeks leading to the vacation. And then shortly before you leave (within a few days before leaving?) propose then. As in a, "I'd like you to go with me...as my fiancée."

:wavey:
 

crr243

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Messages
63
Thanks for the thoughts, SirGuy!

The planned day is, unfortunately, the first work day of the week. I don't think the stress factor will be too much of an issue, and I have my heart set on proposing on that specific date, though I suppose any date would become a new day to celebrate!

I'd like to have the ring resized so that she can also wear it on holidays, so that means having 2-3 weeks before we leave to be able to send it back to BGD. It would also be nice to propose while we're within the BGD return period. While I'm sure that she'll love anything that I give her (she's outright said this in the past, and she didn't want to be involved in the purchasing process), there's always this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that she won't. The return period expires 3 days after my current planned proposal date.

I also have to work around an upcoming friend's wedding, which will be a long 4-day celebration the weekend before we leave on vacation. They're having two ceremonies (Thursday and Saturday) to capture both her ethnic traditions and his western traditions. I certainly don't want to propose the week of the wedding; nor do I really want to propose too closely after that wedding.

I'll certainly give it some more thought!
 

crr243

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Messages
63
I changed my mind a bit and decided to propose a day earlier than our relationship anniversary. It gave me a day where I could plan everything.

The stars aligned a bit, too. She loves penguins and two penguins were just born at the zoo, so it gave me a great cover to visit the zoo. I also convinced her that it would be a great idea to bike to the zoo, which is along a path we normally bike anyway. The place we first met and the place where we cemented our relationship are both along the path we took.

We went to brunch first thing in the morning and then biked the ~5km to the zoo. On the way back, I coached her on the direction and managed to get her onto the bridge where we had the exclusivity talk 2 years ago. That's where we stopped to take a few pictures and recall the conversation from 2 years prior. After a few pictures, I dropped to a knee and SHE SAID YES!

A couple walking by caught the tail end and were kind enough to snap a few photos for us, too!

I proposed mid-day. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon making phone calls, and then went for dinner at the first fancy restaurant we went to together exactly 2 years to the day prior.

Of course, I divulged all of my secrets to her about my original proposal plans, but she says she wouldn't trade the proposal for anything. She was 100% surprised up to the very moment I pulled out the ring, and 2 days later she says she is still surprised and never saw it coming. I had her fully convinced that I hadn't even started shopping for the ring and that I hadn't spoken with her parents yet.

She actually likes that it was the day before our anniversary date - it was near the anniversary, but it's a day in and of itself to celebrate. We also now have this standing joke that it was "2 years less a day" of dating... (http://lawfacts.ca/node/76)

Unfortunately the ring is sized a bit too large (5.75; we went to Tiffany and sized her properly at a 5.0). She wore it to work yesterday anyway to show off to her coworkers and last night we sent it back to BGD for a resize. I'll snap some photos when it's back on her hand, properly sized!
 

SirGuy

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 14, 2014
Messages
441
That's so great, congratulations! It sounds like it worked out perfectly. Enough time to relax and enjoy it, and she never saw it coming! As another guy I know how important that bit is to us sometimes, even if the gals don't always appreciate it that way. :lol:

I like how the dinner was at the same place as two years ago. That's great stuff! Congrats again!

Have you started a thread on sharing the ring and details? Some are likely very interested! :wavey:
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top