Love is in the air and so is the idea of popping the question. There are so many ways to propose to the love of your life, and finding the one that works for you and your lover might take a bit of searching, so that is where these beautiful, 140 Marriage Proposal Ideas sent in by readers of this site - they wanted to share their happy moments with you, in hoping these ideas will help you find what you need 😉 -
"The Presentation" Proposal
My girlfriend thought that on Saturday we were going to a black-tie event for my company at the Crown Plaza Ravinia off of Ashford-Dunwoody (in Atlanta). I told her about the event a month ahead of time. I also told her that I was giving a presentation along with my boss. She believed it. I also went to the trouble to make up invitations and print them up. We arrived an hour early to meet my boss and go through the presentation before we gave it. When we got there, I pretended to call him to tell him we had arrived. I had my girlfriend next to me as this next part of the plan took place: he proceeded to chew me out. He was saying that I sent him the wrong presentation without the changes we made on Friday. I began to freak out and say "I have the disk in my car, do you have your laptop?" etc. While this was going on I had a paper copy of the PowerPoint presentation in my hand and I was flipping through as he was supposedly pointing out the mistakes via cell phone.
I said to him to come on down so we can meet. At that point I turned to her and said "Can you believe I messed this up so badly?" and began to show her the slides that were messed up. One of them read "Tonya, will you Marry Me?" She had this puzzled look on her face as she read it because she was so thrown off by all of the shenanigans leading up to it that she was simply shocked. Then I got on my knee and pulled out the ring and asked her, “Will you marry me?" What made it so nice was I had my best friend hiding out with my camcorder recording the whole thing so we have this recorded memory to hopefully show our grandkids. Everyone knew except her. So when she would call and say, "Hey! I am engaged," they would respond with, "Yeah, we know, Jason told us it would be today." It was sweet because she is the type of person who has to know everything and for her to have something this major happen without her even picking up on it was worth the trouble of planning and pulling it off. To top off the evening, we went downtown and had dinner at a nice restaurant.
--submitted by Jason
A Proposal that Lasts Forever
For a proposal, take a picture of each letter in WILL YOU MARRY ME from different signs or whatever. Each letter individually on different pictures (14 in all). They can be placed in a small photo album, one per page so that she will have to flip through them as she reads the letters when you are ready to propose. Then dress nice and have someone take a picture of you down on one knee in the spot the proposal will take place, with the ring out. Add this as the final picture in the album. Then tell your love that you are going out so dress nice. Put the same outfit on you took your picture in. Take her to the same spot, so that the picture is identical (maybe a park). Then, when she is ready, give her the pictures and tell her to look. When she gets to the end there you will be, just like in the picture. Wait till the last picture to get on one knee. They will have the memory of that proposal for a lifetime as well as a keepsake of the moment.
--submitted by Tiffy
A Box Of Memories
For our 6-month anniversary my boyfriend made dinner for me. When we were pretty much done, he pulled out a box that would hold a ring in it. He had told me a month or two before he wanted to get me a promise ring, but couldn't afford it. The day came and he handed me the box, and as I opened it up, I saw it was empty. I was a little bummed because I had gotten my hopes up, but as he saw my face he said, "This box is empty so that we can fill it with memories." Then, he pulled out the velvet ring-holder and opened it up with the ring facing me and said, "And here's our first one." We will have been together for almost a year now, and are getting married in one to two years.
--submitted by Larisa
A Computer Proposal
My fiancé and I met online over the Internet. After dating for a couple of months, he proposed to me. One morning, he sent me an instant message, asking me how I slept, etc. He then told me to click on his profile. There in great big letters under Latest News was: "AIDY, WILL YOU MARRY ME!" It was unconventional, but adorable considering how we initially met. We are now living together and planning a Christmas wedding.
--submitted by Aidy
A Day Full Of Surprises
It was 5:00 in the morning on July 20, 2004, my 22nd birthday when my boyfriend called to say, “Happy Birthday, Sweetie, wake up because we’re going fishing.” I got ready. He came over and picked me up. On the way to the beach he gave me a card with a nose ring in it. It was really nice I was just so happy we were going fishing because I had always wanted to do that. We got our equipment, had some breakfast and went on the boat. It was really nice, just the two of us in the middle of the ocean on a fishing trip. We learned how to fish and even caught a couple. The fishing trip was over in the afternoon. He took me to my house so that I could get cleaned up then he took me out for lunch at a Greek restaurant; the food was great. After that we went to his house so that he could get ready.
I always put my purse in his room so as I went to put it in there, on his bed was another card and a little gift: two very nice belly rings. I was surprised and loved them very much. I get very sensitive on my birthday so every time I got a card I started to cry because they we’re so sweet and deep. We cuddled for a while and then we left. He had made reservations at a restaurant in Newport Beach called Mama Mi; it was a candlelit dinner right on the beach. We ate, and the food was great. Towards the end of our meal, a lady from the street walked into the restaurant yelling “I’m looking for Marylyn, Marylyn - the birthday girl!” I was shocked! she told me her name and introduced me to a guy who would be escorting us through Newport Lido on a gondola that my boyfriend had set up for me.
I couldn’t believe it; I was so surprised! I started to cry with joy and kiss my boyfriend. We finished our dinner and our escort took us to the gondola. It was a beautiful gondola with a couch set. It was a little cold outside so my boyfriend gave me a blanket. He brought some salami, crackers and cheese. The guy took a picture of us and took us around Newport Lido. It was so romantic; we cuddled, kissed, talked and held each other. Then I told my boyfriend that I hoped that was the last of the surprises for the day because I didn’t think I could cry anymore! He said, “Oh, I don’t know ...” We went on for a while, when I saw something in the water I thought we were going to hit. The gondola guy asked me to pick it up and when I first tried, I missed. He turned the gondola around and I tried a second time and I got it. It was a bottle with a message inside. Inside was a letter that started with, “Dear Soul Mate,” and of course I started to cry again. It was a very sweet and deep letter that made me feel so wonderful. At the end it said, “Let’s add another chapter to our lives …” and he got on his knee and gave me the most beautiful promise ring I had ever seen. I didn’t know what to say. I felt like I was going to faint! I told him that I loved him and “yes” to all his questions. He put my ring on; we kissed, held each other tight, enjoyed the moment and rode back to shore.
--submitted by Marylyn
A Great Start To A Wonderful Family
I got pregnant after my boyfriend and my 2 year anniversary. I knew where my boyfriend stood with children, so I was very pleased to tell him about my condition. As I had expected my boyfriend was happy too. He was there for me throughout my pregnancy. One night while in my 7th month the baby started kicking, which showed a rise and fall on my stomach as a little bump. We lifted my shirt and watched for a few minutes making some little comments and some short little jokes. I shifted a bit to watch a minute of the TV, when I felt something cold against my skin. I looked down and rising with he bump on my stomach (the baby kicking) was a diamond engagement ring. I burst into tears, and as my boyfriend wiped away my tears he whispered, "See even our baby thinks we should unite, will you marry me?" I cried even harder as I kissed him and said, “Yes!”
--submitted by Anna
A Moment To Remember
On our first anniversary, my boyfriend surprised me with a candle light dinner. We were all dressed up and it was so much fun. After dinner, at one point I got up and stood at the counter. He told me to stand there and close my eyes, so I did. Then he put headphones over my ears... and it played our song! Then he started kissing me and the next thing I knew.. he slowly slips a beautiful ring through my finger. It was a moment to remember!
--submitted by Anonymous
A Promise Of Affection
I remember when my boyfriend and I were at his best friends wedding and he was the best man, so I couldn't see him as much. After dinner he came over to me and gave me this little package of butter. The butter was PROMISE. He said to me as he placed it in my hand "I promise to honor and cherish you forever" To this day I still have the butter.
--submitted by Nikki
A Romantic Proposal
My Boyfriend had "reserved me" for the days of June 3rd and 4th, so I knew that he had something planned, but I had no idea what. He asked me to come over to his house on Monday afternoon, and when I went out to my car to leave my house, on my hood was a cluster of lilacs and a little film canister. I opened up the canister and read: "Today we are going on a scavenger hunt. I have chosen 9 special places to symbolize the 9 months that we've been dating and you have to find each place by the clues I'm leaving you." And he left me the first clue. The first spot was his house. Then while I was there I had to find the next clue and so on. It was so much fun because we visited all of our romantic spots like where he asked me out and where we had our first kiss. The 4th spot we visited was along side of the St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis.
That's where we had been on our first date and several times since then. In this spot there was no next clue ... instead he handed me a rolled piece of paper on which he had written me the most romantic letter I've ever read, talking about how much I mean to him and how much he loves me. It was so sweet, and when I was done I gave him a big hug. While we were hugging I heard a ringing noise from the woods next to us. After a few rings Brian told me to go figure out what it was. So I walked down the little path to find a huge pile of golf balls at the bottom of the path. I wasn't really sure what was going on and asked Brian what he wanted me to do with them all. He said, "Kick them off!" So I did. Underneath the golf balls was a heart-shaped stepping stone (which he had made) that read: “ON THIS SPOT, BRIAN (his full name) WAS ENGAGED TO CARA (my full name). MY FIRST LOVE, MY TRUE LOVE, MY SOULMATE FOREVER. JUNE 3rd, 2002.” I was like, "engaged?" I turned around and Brian was down on one knee holding a ring for me. It was the most incredible proposal I could have ever imagined!
--submitted by Cara
A Rose And A Ring
I have wanted to do this for my girlfriend; get two dozen roses make a trail of them to a room of the house (bedroom). At the doorway, hang one of them with a ring around it and a note saying, “I Love You - Will You Marry Me?”
--submitted by Mike
A Ruined Proposal
When I was planning my proposal everything was set and ready to go. I had the ring, the flowers and the location. I found out that the element of surprise was gone when my future mother-in-law called me to tell me that my girlfriend knew that I was going to propose because she had accidentally let it slip. I needed to take some action. I went out to a cheap jewelry shop and bought a cheap fake diamond ring. I broke off two of the arms that were holding the diamond in place so that the diamond came out. I then took it and placed in a beautiful felt box and got ready for the proposal. I picked my girlfriend up and drove her to Central Park in NYC. I took her to a bench and told her how much I loved her and that she meant so much to me. Now as I am saying this I am opening the felt box in front of her. We both looked down and saw the ring, broken in the box. I started to act upset, saying things like how could this happen, and I couldn’t believe this. She tried to calm me down telling me it would be ok, and we could get it fixed. That's when I sprung it on her. I told her that I knew she knew that I was proposing that day and that the ring was fake and that in fact I was not going to propose today. At this point she was confused and started getting upset saying that her mom invited all these people to celebrate our engagement and that she bought all this food for it. I told her to calm down and we would call her soon, but for now let's just go for a walk in the park. As we turned a corner in the park, there on a half circle stone bench, were rose pedals, wine, candles, flowers, and stuffed animals. As she looked at it she said to me, “Oh that's so sweet! What do you think is going on here?” I looked her in the eye in a way that told her exactly what was going on here. I got down on one knee, and in front of 40 tourists that stopped to look, asked her to marry me with the real ring that was in my other pocket. I have been happily married for one year now.
--submitted by Aaron
A Song And A Rose
I proposed to my girlfriend by going to a nightclub that had karaoke. I am not a professional singer but I wanted to do something she would remember. So I brought a rose and took out the center of it and placed the engagement ring with a string tied to it into the center of the rose and tied the other end to the stem. I went on stage and sang the Wonder of You by Elvis who she loves and when I was finished asked her to join me on the stage, which she did. I said these words to her "They say that every rose has thorns but this rose has no thorns, it has points, if you pull on this string you will see the points I am talking about." She pulled on the string and out of the center of the rose came the diamond ring. At which point I asked her to marry me, with tears in her eyes she said yes. The people in the nightclub were cheering, some were crying. It was a very touching moment one I am sure she will never forget and neither will I.
--submitted by Scott
A Valentine’s Day Promise
It was the day before Valentine's Day 2004. My boyfriend and I were 1 month shy of our 3 year anniversary. He was supposed to come over and hang out for a while, but something came up and he had to be late. Nothing was going the way I wanted it to, and I started to get a little upset. When my boyfriend finally arrived, I didn't notice the big card he had in his hand, I was just happy to finally see him. He kissed me hello, and handed me the card. He told me since I wasn't having a very good day, he thought he would make it better by giving me my card early. As I read the card (it was pretty big so I couldn’t see anything that was going on behind the card), I started to cry because the words he wrote were so special. When I put the card down, he was leaning down on the side of the couch with a ring box. I was shocked! He said this is a promise ring for me to wear until he can buy me an engagement ring. It was absolutely beautiful. It is probably the most romantic thing he has ever done, and I can't wait to see what he has planned for the proposal!
--submitted by Natalie
