Valentine’s Day 2012: Top 10 Marriage Proposal Stories

Monday, 13 February 2012 06:30

Valentine’s Day 2012: Top 10 Marriage Proposal Stories

 

Valentine’s Day is the most popular day of the year for marriage proposals. We talked to dozens of real life couples about the day they got engaged. The stories were varied – from funny to romantic and oftentimes a little bit of both. Here are our 10 favorite marriage proposal stories.

1. Colleen and Ross (married 11 years)

Colleen and Ross had been dating for nearly two years and living together for a year, when they decided to get hitched. His proposal was sort of a non-proposal.

From Colleen: “We were at dinner with his parents and he kept looking at me strangely all night. We got home and I asked what was up, and he said he was going to ask me to marry him but thought his parents would make too big a deal out of it.

I said, ‘Screw that, we should just go to Vegas’ and he asked if I would do that, thinking I wanted a big wedding. I said Hell YES! and we booked it then and there. We flew out exactly 2 weeks later and got married at the Little White Chapel on the Strip.”

2. Cherise and Steven (married 8 1/2 years)

Cherise and Steven went through a lot of rough spots in their relationship, but they stuck it out and made it work.

From Cherise: “Steven and I probably broke up five times in our first 9 months of dating. He was always late, loved hanging out with his boys, just didn’t seem to have enough time for me. I told him that I didn’t think he was in it for the long haul, so it was best to end it for good. So when we broke up for the final time, I thought that was it.

Two days after we split up, I met up with about five or six of my girlfriends at a local bar for my friend Jessica’s birthday. We were kicking back, laughing and having a few drinks, while listening to some bad karaoke singers.

When I heard, ‘Next up on the stage, Steven.’ I didn’t think twice about it since Steven is a popular name. But when I looked up, I saw MY Steven. He began to belt out, Bryan Adams’ Everything I do (I Do It For You) and I was in shock.

At the end of the song, he said into the mic, ‘Cherise, I just wanted you to know that I AM in it for the long haul.’ And there, on the stage in front of everyone, he asked me to marry him.

Apparently, he had been planning this with my friend Jessica for weeks. We got married a few months later and have been very happy for the last five years.”

3. Melissa and Eric (married 6 years)

Melissa and Eric now run a wedding favors website (among other ventures), so it’s no wonder their wedding proposal was so romantic.

From Melissa: “Eric had planned it for like 4 months completely unknown to me, of course. It was on our 3 year anniversary of dating and he took me down to Shelter Island to a restaurant that was in a hotel (AJ’s Bar and Grill) – great food that overlooked a private beach the resort owned.

So we eat dinner and he is totally smiling at me the entire time and can’t stop giggling, it was too cute! So we finish and he tells me that there was a surprise back at our house and that’s what he was excited about. Well he had me completely convinced we were going home, so we get in the car after dinner and start driving down the street, when we come to a round about that takes you off this little island. He keeps going around, doesn’t leave and just returns to the hotel! (That is totally Eric and his “sly” moves.)

So we pull into the parking lot and I am completely confused wondering why we returned and he said we were staying for 3 days! I was so excited because we had never really gone on a trip like that. Little did I know he had packed my bags, which were hiding in the back seat. We go into the hotel and go straight to the room, we get to the door and he tells me to close my eyes … that’s when I KNEW IT! And of course I start to tear up as I close my eyes.

He led me into the room. And when I opened my eyes the room was filled with roses and candles and he was on his knee asking me to marry him. It was the best night of my life, the roses even had little cards in them that read “Will you marry me?” – sweetest thing EVER.”

 

4. Diana and Don (married 2 years)

Diana never thought Don was into all the romantic stuff. However, his Valentine’s Day proposal changed all that.

From Diana: “Don and I have been living together for four years and have two kids. I never really thought much about having a real wedding or a romantic marriage proposal. I always figured one day that we’d just decide to do it or not. So his proposal actually came as a shock.

On Valentine’s Day last year, we got a babysitter for the kids and went to our favorite Italian restaurant. As we were eating dinner, I reached into the bread basket and to my surprise, found a velvet gift box instead. By the time, I could open it, Don was asking me to marry him. I was so floored that I couldn’t stop crying. We are getting married in May.”

5. Dexie and Scott (married 14 years)

Dexie and Scott had been dating only about six weeks, when he proposed.

From Dexie: “Scott actually asked me to marry him over the telephone. So there was no getting down on one knee and presenting a ring. He asked me on the phone on his birthday. We bought the rings together and he put the ring on my finger in a bathroom.

We got married three months later and have been happy ever since.”

6. Veronica and Bo (engaged)

Veronica always dreamed of a romantic proposal and she definitely got it from Bo.

From Veronica: “One afternoon Bo took me to our favorite park – one which we early in our dating relationship named Paris Park. The story behind the name: I had always daydreamed about how romantic it would be to meet my future husband in Europe. I envisioned my crossing a bridge one way and he coming across it from the other direction, the two of us meeting in the middle, our eyes meeting, and then us deciding to travel on together forever.

Our first time at the park, about a month into our dating relationship, I told Bo what I had imagined and he had us re-enact it. We pretended a football goal, near our bridge was the Eiffel Tower. It was really sweet.

So on this particular day, Bo went to Jim’s (local diner) and bought tortilla soup (my favorite) and packed it and a blanket and would only tell me that we were going on a picnic. We got to the park and went to a spot near our bridge at which point Bo presented me with three gorgeous sunflowers.

We ate lunch and then Bo asked me if I wanted to go for a walk, like we did the first time we ever went to the park. We went over the bridge and Bo stopped in the middle of it and kissed me – our first kiss on our bridge.

Then Bo said, ‘Do you remember when you told me about your daydream of meeting your future husband on a bridge in Europe?’

Then he went to re-enact it, which I at first didn’t think anything of because Bo is sweet and sentimental like that. But as I walked across the bridge to go to my side of it for the re-enactment, it suddenly occurred to me: ‘Wouldn’t this be a super romantic way to propose?’

I met Bo in the middle of the bridge and he was narrating the re-enactment and he said, ‘You’re in Europe on the bridge and crossing it. You see a guy …’

‘A really good looking one,’ I interjected.

Bo went on, ‘You run into each other and then he gets on his knee and asks, Will you marry me?’ By this point Bo was on his knee holding out towards me the most gorgeous engagement ring ever. And I said: ‘Seriously????? Yes!!!!’”

 

7. Tim and Monika (married 7 years)

Monika and Tim had been working in the same office for a year when he finally asked her on a first date. Though it took him a long time to ask her out, he wasted no time with the marriage proposal.

From Tim: “We moved very quickly. After our second date, we were pretty much living together because we couldn’t stand to be apart. After five weeks of dating, no one in our office knew that we were even seeing each other (it was against company policy).

One day we were in a staff meeting with our boss and about 30 other employees, I was giving a presentation using a slide projector, crunching numbers about a huge project we had coming up. As I was wrapping up the presentation, I said, ‘I have one more thing.’

I flipped to the final slide and there it was for the whole office to see. The slide said, ‘Monika, Will You Marry Me?’

She was so shocked that she almost fainted. After catching her breath, Monika accepted and we got married four months later.”

8. Kellie and Kyle (married 6 years)

Kellie and Kyle tried to make their long distance relationship work. And when the distance got to be too much, they found a solution – they got married.

From Kellie: “There’s no flowers, romance or even a ring in my story. Kyle and I had met at a business conference. Though I lived in New York and he lived in Minneapolis, we tried to make it work. He was the first guy in my life that had ever made my heart flutter – I thought it was worth trying.

After five months of phone calls and emails, I told him one night that I didn’t think it was going to work. He agreed and we said our goodbyes on the telephone. I cried myself to sleep and cried all the next day.

The next morning, I sent him an email that said, ‘I can’t stop thinking about you. I don’t want to spend life without you. Let’s get married.’

He called me almost immediately and said, ‘I would have asked you, but I thought you’d think I was crazy.’

Kyle quit his job, moved to New York and we got married at the court house three weeks later. We couldn’t be happier – I’m expecting our first baby in June.”

9. Lucie and Mark (married 31 years)

Sometimes couples break up a few times before settling down and getting married. With Lucie and Mark, they almost broke up and got engaged on the same day.

From Lucie: “After a really, really tough day at the office, I just wanted some peace and quiet. While taking the bubble bath, I got out to answer my phone because it was ringing continuously. It turned out to be my long-time boyfriend on the other line but I told him I was in no mood to talk.

About 30 minutes later, there was a knock at my door. It was my boyfriend Mark again. Enraged, I told him that because he couldn’t respect my wishes to be left alone that I never wanted to see him again. As I went to slam the door, he blocked it with his foot and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes to his proposal and then we went out to meet my parents, who my boyfriend had flown into town, for dinner. My bad mood almost ruined what turned out to be a wonderful day!”

10. Kori and LJ (married 9 years)

This is my own engagement story. I lived in Los Angeles when I met my soon-to-be husband on a basketball message board online. He lived in Texas.  After connecting, we talked by email and the phone every day for several weeks before I flew to San Antonio to meet him for the first time in April 2002. We actually knew we would get married the first time we talked on the phone before ever meeting in person. We officially got engaged the next month in May.

I was visiting San Antonio for the weekend. The engagement day was very romantic. I was taking a shower at his townhouse and when I came out, all the lights to the bedroom were out and the room was filled with red, white and pink candles. There were rose petals all over the bed along with a dozen long-stemmed red roses.

On the bed were also a few cute items: A Princess Barbie doll that he cut the hair a little shorter and colored the hair with a Sharpie marker so that it would look like me. Four stuffed animal dogs representing each of my dogs. Also a few cards that he had written some very nice things. This is when I actually thought he was going to propose, but that wasn’t it.

After this whole presentation, we went downstairs to watch the NBA playoffs. At halftime, he went upstairs to get something then came back down. As I was walking across the room, he grabbed my hand and got on one knee. And said, “Princess, I love you so much. I love you so much. Will you marry me?” and presented the ring.

I said, “Of course” and we lived happily ever after.