A couple (35ish) told me an endearing story where he went down on one knee in a traditional way and proposed. (in a public setting)
He was terrified, although he was fairly certain of the answer. Which had me wondering…
Feel free to share your experiences. Your age/sex might be helpful.
Not only would I be horrified about the public setting, I would wonder if it was Invasion of the Body Snatchers time, because it would be so out of character for my SO. :eek: He is so private.
I was 34 at the time, and my girlfriend was 22 (Yeah, I know).
She proposed to me over the intercom at my very busy retail job. I was helping some customers with incontinence products at the time, heard her voice come over the PA, and interrupted the spiel…
“The difference between these two are absorbancy… oh no, I think that’s my girlfriend…”
She then proceeded to name me by my full name, introduce herself by name, then ask me to marry her. You could hear excited gasps all over the store, and my customer was excited too. “Oh my, that’s so romantic… you have to say yes!”
Except I had no idea where she was, and there were no phones on the sales floor if I’d wanted to respond in kind. I was seriously weirded out and began to march toward the front, and she came over the PA again… “Honey, where are you?” Customers were running around asking everyone if they were the guy, and when one found me, they told me where she was.
Went up to her, and there were a few dozen customers standing in a circle, the gf starting to dial out again… she squealed, dropped the phone and ran to me, and people started coming up and taking our picture, yelling at me to say “yes.”
We had already agreed a few months earlier that we would get married, but I was hoping to wait until her latest manic spell, which had been going non-stop for a couple of months (the kind of thing where I’d have to wrestle her out of stores, intervene to get her to take her medicines, secretly return the thousands of dollars of merchandise she was bringing home), was over. I was on the spot now. Dragged her to the nearest uncrowded aisle, told her “yes” and that I had to get back to work, and that if she went to my place, I’d see about getting a half-day and going home at lunch.
I found out that she had been in the store since before I’d gotten there, planned it with two store managers, with one of the supports who knew me better than the managers warning them that I was an intensely private guy and would be a bit ticked.
She broke up with me a week later by text. It’s been over a year since then, and I still get customers who come up and ask how the “wife” is.
…
When I was 22 and my then-gf was 19, it was a private thing… much more befitting our personalities. That marriage actually went through, and we were together for a decent amount of time for a “young, foolish” marriage.
I personally would think it would be cool because it would subvert expectations (as I’m male). But I would definintely be embarrassed anyways.
And I would never do it to someone else unless I knew for absolute certain that she would say yes and I also knew it wouldn’t bother her.
I was 19 and she was 18. Young, I know, but we had been together for a year and a half in high school and had lived together for the past year in college. I emailed my co-conspirators a few weeks in advance and met them the morning of the proposal and planned everything out. Later that day, while she, her family, and I were sitting at the Don Juan and Miguel pre-show, the performers started a bit we had never seen before. They chose one lucky lady from the audience to woo. “Shockingly”, they chose The Walking Lady. She went on stage with them and Don Juan read her poetry and complimented her and asked if there was any man brave enough to fight for her(to the crowd this probably seemed like a provocation meant for Miguel). At this point I stood up, whipped off my hat and cloak with a flourish, and shouted that I could not abide by this any longer and that I would fight for her. I strode to the stage and climbed the stairs where I received a sword and was asked if I really wanted to do this(possibly I have forgotten a little of what Don Juan said, but that’s because I was nearly wetting myself at the time). I said I did and the fight began. I looked at Don Juan and said, “Hello, my name is (my name here, unfortunately not nearly as cool as Inigo Montoya). You have taken my true love, prepare to die.” I then thrust my sword expertly(ish) at his heart, naturally he parried my move, saving his life, at the last second. This happened twice more(with someone from the crowd yelling, “Stop saying that!”) before Don Juan gave up and declared that I was brave, strong, and loving enough to have The Walking Lady. At that point I turned to her, completely forgot the “down on one knee thing” in my nervousness, and asked her to marry me. She said yes and the several hundred people gathered for the show burst into cheers and applause. A little under two years later we were married and last month we celebrated our fifth anniversary. Hopefully with many more to come! So, yeah, I am okay with the in public thing.
OP: Did you see this recent thread? Is this a new Trend? Big staged wedding proposals. - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board
I would be confused since my husband hates being the center of attention, and so it would be totally out of character.
The only thing that would really horrify me about a proposal is if he had asked my Father beforehand. That is one of the worst wedding traditions IMO, and frankly not my parents choice.
No. Thanks for the heads up!
Fantastic story. Thanks.
In my dreams I see myself doing something just like that.
Here in the real world, I have neither the creativity or the nerve.
Dude, age 46. I proposed to my future wife, alone in our apartment after a nice evening out on her birthday, just over 20 years ago. She’s shy and would’ve been very, very embarrassed if I’d popped the question out in public. I’m more of an extrovert, so if anyone were to propose to me in public, I wouldn’t have minded.
My brother in law set things up at the local Renaissance Faire. He rode up on a horse, got down on one knee, doffed his helmet and proposed.
ETA
I strongly support public proposals.
I proposed in the bleachers at Candlestick Park just before the start of a Giants-Dodgers game. There were more than a few people about, and I think it went swimmingly.