# Guys, did you propose on one knee? (But I want to hear from everyone) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 6, 2013, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656 "2013-12-06T06:10:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/21 "2013-12-06T13:42:06Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Yes. We’d been rounding up and branding cattle much of the day. When things slowed that afternoon I asked her to walk with me to see some petroglyphs and just get away from all the dust and bellowing. She had a sleeveless plaid shirt on and a little smudge of dirt on her nose that made her look hopelessly adorable. We sat on a rock outcrop and talked for awhile, then I turned to her side, dropped to one knee and asked if we could spend the rest of our lives that way. So she still has that adorable dirt smudge on her nose? ---
**Author:** ![Shark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Shark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/22 "2013-12-06T13:42:13Z")
I proposed to my wife on a small little sand bar off the cost of Florida in the Gulf. Her Dad had a house there and we went for a visit. I knew before the trip that I was going to ask her and I had an idea of where I would ask her. I went to WalMart and bought a ring with the smallest little chip of a real diamond in it. I think I paid $25, but I didn’t want to lose a real ring jet skiing around the Gulf with only the tiny pocket of a pair of swim trunks to hold the ring. So, I stuffed the ring in to my trunks, we went zooming around, checking out dolphins and such. We stopped on the little sandy island and beached the jet ski. We walked around a little and I surreptitiously stuck my hand down my trunks…to retrieve the ring. I said something about what a perfect place it was. I then got down on one knee at the waters edge like I was looking at something in the sand and BAM, hit her with a proposal. She said yes. I got her a real ring. We got married. Her Dad sold the house in Florida and the jet skis. Haven’t been back since and I doubt that we could ever find the same island among the many anyway, if it is even still there. Kneeling…Yes Public…No Accepted…Yes Still Married…Yes Elapsed Time…17 Years ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/23 "2013-12-06T13:43:05Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > So she still has that adorable dirt smudge on her nose? It came off at the bridal shower. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/24 "2013-12-06T13:44:51Z")
We were watching TV and the idea hit me, as if it had finally matured, so I asked, she said yes and we went back to the show. I couldn’t have gotten on one knee anyway because her son was asleep across our laps. ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/25 "2013-12-06T13:45:31Z")
I proposed on one knee in a hotel room after my squadron Christmas Party one year. I was running the party, however, and in between handing out door prizes and overseeing other stuff, I had to get the ring out of where it was hidden in the car, as well as a bottle of wine from a vineyard that shares my last name, and hide them in the room. My girlfriend at the time was getting highly upset at me because I wasn’t spending any time with her. My proposal began as an apology with me standing up. She wasn’t really listening, so I dropped to one knee, and then she started to listen! She said yes, and our 15th anniversary is at the end of this month. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/26 "2013-12-06T13:46:37Z")
“So…you’re pregnant?” ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/27 "2013-12-06T13:52:28Z")
I got down on one knee. We were at her favorite beach in the town where she grew up. It was just us and some random dog. I knew that she would say yes and I knew that she would appreciate a traditional proposal. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/28 "2013-12-06T15:06:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I proposed to my wife while we were both seated on the bench in front of the Buddha at the koi pond on the Huntington Library grounds. No knees, and I froze after pulling out the ring until she prompted me that I wanted to ask something. 😃 Very cute ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/29 "2013-12-06T15:09:21Z")
We had been living together for a few years, and had bought property together that we intended to build on. I tend to procrastinate, so she finally said that we should set a date and we did. We just knew that we where going to get married. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/30 "2013-12-06T15:14:58Z")
No knees for me. I did ask her father’s permission first. I was in the military at the time and back then you also had to ask permission from your squadron commander. I thought that was strange - maybe if marrying someone overseas as that added complications, but not in the USA. However back then if the military wanted you to have a wife, they would have issued you one. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/31 "2013-12-06T15:24:55Z")
We were sitting on a rock overlooking Hidden Lake in Glacier Nat’l Park. Had a ring, in a box. It was the last day of our trip and I’d been carrying that thing in my pocket all week, waiting for the right moment. I didn’t take [this picture](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_clgvbhVhlkQ/THQpFgv80-I/AAAAAAAAAgY/JsAF9pIa7xs/s1600/Hidden+Lake+Panorama.jpg), but that’s exactly what we were looking at at the time, and I figured it wasn’t going to get any better than that. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/32 "2013-12-06T15:27:52Z")
It was about 11pm in our bedroom and we were both in our pajamas and scruffy looking. We’d had a tiff over something so minor I can’t even remember what it was now - the sort of tiff you apologize over right away and feel glad you both can get past it without any drama. So after some minutes of cuddling on the bed he looks me in the eyes for another minute and says “Will you marry me?” And that was that. Wouldn’t have it other way. It was actually Valentine’s Day but he didn’t plan that. I don’t think I would’ve had the guts to propose to him for at least half a year more, but if he didn’t do it eventually I would’ve. There never was a ring. Too broke. People were either surprised that we bothered to get married (“You didn’t seem traditional…”) or completely unsurprised (“Well, yeah…It was obvious”) ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/33 "2013-12-06T15:29:55Z")
These stories are really quite wonderful. Thank you all for sharing them. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/34 "2013-12-06T15:33:58Z")
I did propose on one knee, yes. It had been raining, and she even thought to bring a towel so I wouldn’t get my pant-leg soggy. So, obviously, it wasn’t a surprise. We’d actually planned the date of the proposal to coincide with my parents’ anniversary (we had originally planned to then be married on her parents’ anniversary, though we wound up doing it about 3 months earlier). I didn’t ask permission, but I did ask for her mother’s blessing (her father is deceased). I gave her my mother’s engagement ring. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/35 "2013-12-06T15:42:36Z")
I’ve never proposed to anyone, but when I eventually do, it’ll be on one knee. I’m a sucker for tradition, that way. I have no idea whether it will be in public or private. And if her parents are alive, I will ask for their blessing, but I will _not_ ask for permission. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/36 "2013-12-06T15:46:35Z")
No kneeling for me either time. First time was sitting on a couch. Second time was standing on the Arlington Memorial Bridge at night, looking out at the Lincoln Memorial. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/37 "2013-12-06T15:54:31Z")
We were on a park bench, at night. I was visiting her family and we had gone for a walk. When we got back she woke everyone up to tell them. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/38 "2013-12-06T15:57:42Z")
No bended knee. At some point, we just assumed we would be getting married, but neither of us can say when that point was. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/39 "2013-12-06T15:58:56Z")
Mine was a couch one, too. The FedEx truck with the ring had come earlier in the day while she was in the shower. I signed for it, hid it, called up her father, explained my intentions, and then proposed to her about an hour later as she was sitting on the couch working on the computer. She seemed a little annoyed at me for interrupting her work at first, but warmed up after she realized what was happening. She did say yes. I don’t _think_ I got on one knee, but I don’t remember. It was all kind of a blur. I had not actually thought at all about what steps were going to follow after getting the ring, so I kind of improvised it. I’m not a planner that way. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656/40 "2013-12-06T16:00:00Z")
She knew I was going to propose – for that matter, she knew I had the engagement ring, as she’d picked it out, and I’d bought it, about 6 weeks earlier. But, just after I bought the ring, she left on a trip with her sister for 3 weeks, and then other things came up. As Captain Jack Sparrow said, I was looking for the opportune moment. Anyway, we went out for dinner at a very nice restaurant, and then we went back to my apartment. I told her, “I have some things for you.” “Things, plural???” I gave her a small, flat, wrapped gift. She opened it up, and it contained a [baseball card](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5xf4sSrBG1r9hrxoo1_500.jpg). “Baseball card? I don’t get it.” “Open another one,” I said. **Will** (Clark) I then gave her a box that, in theory, could hold a ring, though it was a little big for that. She opened it, and found that it contained a little ceramic sheep, with a pink bow around its neck. “Baseball and sheep??? I don’t get it!!!” “Open another one.” ewe The third gift was a wrapped cassette tape – The Best of Peter, Paul, and Mary. There was an “arrow” sticker stuck to the label, pointing to the last word of the title. “Ohhhhhhh!” Mary Then, the fourth gift was a pair of children’s alphabet blocks, a “M” and a “E”, glued together. At _that_ point, I got down on my knee, and presented her with the ring. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-did-you-propose-on-one-knee-but-i-want-to-hear-from-everyone/675656.md?page=3)