It is a scene we have all seen hundreds of times in movies and on tv: the boy asks his girl friend to marry him and shows her the ring he has already bought in anticipation of her answer. Yet I have never known anyone who proposed in this fashion. Everyone I know waited until he got a “yes” answer and then went out with the new bride-to-be to select the ring jointly. Did any of you propose or receive a proposal in the Hollywood manner?
My brother knew what kind of ring his girlfriend wanted and so was able to shock her by having the ring with him when he proposed.
Since the OP is conducting a poll, let’s move this to IMHO.
samclem GQ moderator
Each time I have proposed, the ring-getting occurred after.
The first time, I bought the ring after. The second (and much better) time, it was all in advance and down on one knee.
My brother-in-law measured my sister’s finger with a piece of string while she was sleeping and purchased it himself. It’s a massive heart shaped solitaire diamond. When I saw it I burst out laughing and even my sister started giggling sheepishly. It’s definitely not her style but it was offered with so much love and excitement that she loved it on the spot.
I got proposed to the old fashioned way. He already had the ring, and it was my size and everything. He put it in a tiramisu.
I love that guy. 
I knew a guy that went out and bought a cheap ring from Target, proposed with that, and then they went and picked out a ring. This isn’t uncommon, AFAIK.
My husband hadn’t planned on popping the question yet–it was a surprise to both of us. He gave me a ring he was wearing and I wrapped thread around it until we went shopping. He had, however, previously dropped hints about visiting jewelry stores together, so I don’t know what his plan was.
The first two times I was proposed to, the gentleman had the ring. (I ended up not marrying either of them, and returning the rings.) When Mr. SCL proposed it was totally out of the blue - he didn’t have a ring. We bought wedding rings the next day and got married two days later. We’ve been married almost 17 years now.
I bought a posey ring to give to my wife when she said yes. I then replaced it with an appropriate ring with rock before we got married, when she used the first ring as her choice of wedding band.
I asked first, I asked about 5 times in fact. I asked with flowers and dinner not a ring. When she said yes, we went shopping for the ring and I bought a small one, then I took her shopping for an upright piano. My wifes engagement present had ¼ carat and 88 keys.
Jim
I did it the old-fashioned way - picked out a ring myself, asked “Will you marry me?”, and gave her the ring. Fortunately, I’m a romantic who has excellent taste in such matters - I even picked out, without consultation, a bolt of beautiful jade-green silk I knew Missus Case would like to make a dress.
My husband spontaneously asked me to marry him, and I accepted, after knowing each other only a short while. We decided to wait for a while before becoming officially engaged, because we figured if we didn’t, people would always worry that we decided too fast. So, later, we picked out the ring & bought it together. He hung onto it for a while, and then brought it out and “officially” proposed when I wasn’t expecting it.
:smack: Corrected by my lovely bride, I bought the Engagement ring on my own and after she accepted we went shopping for our wedding rings together. I bought her the Piano when we moved into our first apartment together. We also got a kitten shortly after that. The Piano was part of the engagement present, the kitten was not.
Jim
When we were in the “we’re probably serious but we are not yet committed” phase, I got Deb to talk about what sort of stone she wanted, (smoky topaz, emerald cut–she does not like diamonds). With that information, when I was ready to commit, I ordered one to the closest specs I could get (I could not afford having one really created by an artist), and handed it to her when she said “Yes” after I suprised her by popping the question. (I think I got the size by surreptitiously borrowing a ring I was sure she would not wear for the couple of days it took me to place the order–no small feat since I was living East of Cleveland and she was living many miles West of Ann Arbor.)
The actual proposal was spontaneous (me: “so where are you going to move after school?”, him: “with you - marry me?”), but I told him to “do it right” so we picked out a ring and a few weeks later he proposed at sunset on top of a big hill on one knee and I acted suprised.
The first guy had the ring, but also had everything else. “I’ve reserved the chapel for the 12th of April, we’re all set to go to Hawaii on the late plane. I called your mom this morning.” I didn’t think that was a good sign for how our marriage was going to go, so I said no. He looked as though it never occurred to him I might turn him down.
First husband took me shopping one day and pointed out a ring he saw. “What do you think of that?” “Pretty, but I’d rather have an emerald.” “Really? Well, let’s get one, then.” I thought he was joking. He went in and brought out a salesman a few minutes later with a very large square cut emerald. Giving that sucker back when we divorced hurt, but I did it.
This time I got proposed to here. I told him instead of a ring, I’d rather have a house. Priorities change.
Those are beautiful.
My husband bought the engagement ring beforehand and proposed to me on one knee. We have since replaced the ring due to a huge chip in the centre stone (there was a flaw and it cleaved right off).
No Hollywood proposal from any of my fiances, all three of them.
#1 asked in a park, we’re sitting on a picnic table and produced a CZ solitaire weeks later. I left it on my pillow when I left him.
#2 asked over non-romantic dinner, we shopped for a week until I started walking out of jewlery stores at his wheeliong/dealing and produced a 1.06 carat solitaire 2 days later. I mailed it to his secretary when he’d been gone a year.
#3 asked, produced a 1/4 carat soliatire a week later. I gave it back, I took it back, we got married, it got stolen, we’re still married, we picked out a 3 stone one carat princess cut. Pretty!
Wow, wild, that is pretty darn cool.
Especially this reply.
What a cool and great thread and lots of funny post too. Thanks for sharing.
Jim