proposal stories

22 Proposal Stories to Melt Your Heart

Valentine’s Day is coming up and whether you’re into the holiday or not, I think that it’s a nice excuse to be romantic and do mushy things. Your marriage proposal can be one of the most special and romantic days of your entire life! I love hearing these stories from everyone so now seemed like as good a time as any to chat about everyone’s proposal stories! I asked some friends about how their engagements happened and here are some of my favorite answers:

1. He took me to see Santa! When Santa asked me what I wanted, I said “all I want is him.” He got down on one knee and said “I’ve been thinking about it, and all I want is you too. Will you marry me?” The photographer got pictures of the whole thing! – Haylie T.

proposal stories

 

2. I knew for a couple of weeks Gary was going to propose. Three weeks before he actually proposed, he sat down with my parents and asked them for my hand in marriage. The day he proposed he took me to this little beach we went to all the time that had a bench there. We used to go there and have lunch, or sit and talk about life. It was a very special spot for us. He sat me down on the bench, got on one knee and said “I love you more than anything in this world. You are my best friend and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” – Jaime C.

3. Growing up I spent my summers in Washington state. We always stopped at my favorite waterfall, Snoqualmie Falls and hiked to the bottom. I finally took John to visit Washington and of course we went to the waterfall. When we got down to the bottom, we climbed out over some rocks, kicked off our shoes and put our feet in. He then led me out the rock farthest out and got down on his knees and proposed. – Jamie W.

proposal stories

 

4. Surprise birthday party/engagement party. I’d never had a surprise birthday before. The plan was to go to dinner and clubbing with my girlfriends. When I showed up at the restaurant all my parents, his parents, our brothers and friends were there. I assumed it was a surprise birthday party. When I opened my gifts, his was last. I had already opened a camera as a gift and my mother-in-law was setting it up for me. I unwrapped a turquoise soap stone box and inside of it was a velvet jewelry box. I opened up the box and gasped. I said, “Is this what I think it is?” Someone yelled yes. I started tearing up and turned to my right. All the while Nathan had been getting down on one knee, slipped the ring on my finger and asked me to marry him. I smiled, grabbed him and kissed him. I stared at my ring and my Mom/Dad was like, “um everybody and the table over there wants to know if you said yes or no.” I giggled and yelled, “Yes, I said yes.” My mother-in-law recorded the whole proposal on my new camera.
We were at the same restaurant we had our first date at five years earlier, to the day. Everyone knew about the proposal except me and one of our girlfriends (can’t keep a secret). Nathan gallantly took my birthday pie in the face for me. And we went bowling with everyone afterwards, for the engagement party. This Saturday (14th) will be our five year wedding anniversary. – Alison M.

5. My husband took me to Piedmont Park, here in Atlanta. It was 12/21/12, which was supposedly the end of the world (lol!) and it also happened to be the coldest day of the year here I think with wind chill it was 8 degrees. Anyway, we had dinner at Park Tavern which was beautifully lit for Christmas and ate next to a fire pit near an ice skating rink. It was so beautiful and Christmas-y! I loved it. He asked me if I would like to go on a carriage ride through the park to see the lights and even though it was so cold, I agreed. We had the strangest man for a driver. He wouldn’t stop talking about how his wife was begging him for a baby and he just wasn’t ready and was really difficult to ignore for the whole ride. When we got off, my husband handed his phone to the driver and asked if he would take our picture and the next thing I know he’s down on one knee  it was super special and unforgettable. – Ashley C.

6. It was our five month anniversary of dating and the day before her birthday. I picked her up in my clean car and we listened to a playlist of songs we liked and our songs. On the drive to Chicago, we held hands and kissed. The restaurant I selected was the oldest establishment in Chicago at 102 years old. After dinner a magician came to our table and performed magic tricks with cards and made a baseball appear. After dinner we went up in the Sears Tower skydeck, which is one of the highest places on earth and the location where I wanted to propose at the strike of midnight. However the skydeck closed at midnight so we rushed out into the December streets all decorated with Christmas lights to find a spot. With anniversary presents in hand for one another, we pooled our money and took a horse drawn carriage ride. At precisely midnight, we opened the gifts to one another. She gave me a gold chain, and I her engagement ring and asked her if she would marry me. She said “I will”. We were so happy! It also had just become her 21st birthday. – Todd P.

7. Greg and I were dating for 11 months and in those months we went through things that a lot of couples don’t see in their 5 years of marriage. My health got bad but it made our love grow stronger. Greg and I planned a trip to Disney and prayed that my health wouldn’t get in the way of it. Well, we made it down there. It was December and they had the Very Merry Christmas parade and then afterwards they had fireworks. I was in heaven, since it was my first time in Disney and Greg’s 13th time! Just staring at the castle waiting for the fireworks to start dancing back and forth keeping warm, I go to look over at Greg and he knelt down on his knee and asked me to marry him!! Right after the fireworks went off! It was so magical!!! I can’t imagine my life without him! – Lucy I.

proposal stories

8. My hubby and I went to NYC in the beginning of our relationship. There are steps in Times Square that are referred to as the “steps to nowhere” because they don’t go anywhere. That’s where I first realized I was falling for my now husband. The next time we were there I told him that’s where I realized I loved him. Years later during one of our visits at Christmas time he got down on one knee on those steps and asked me to marry him. This year was special because we finally got a picture of our family there. That day we went to the twin towers memorial. Vinny was acting super weird when they had to put all of his belongings through the metal detector. Little did I know he had my ring hiding in his coat pocket the entire time. He had told me later on he was nervous the ring would set something off but it never did. – Stacy P.

proposal stories

 

9. Mike didn’t have a car at the time so he asked me to bring him to the mall. It was early December so I figured just to Christmas shop. He asked me to stay downstairs in Macy’s while he did his thing…ok guess it was for me I thought! He had been going to the mall with his cousin an awful lot the past couple weeks before that so I was wondering why he didn’t take care of mine without me around! Oh well. He finds me about 45 minutes later and was beaming with the biggest smile but no bags, nothing! I was confused. We went back to his place then he went to work. Later that night I picked him up we were to go to dinner at my parents. He INSISTED he stop to get a nice shirt. I was furious since we were already running late. I stopped in front of the store and let him run in. Went to my parents had a nice dinner and after he asked my Dad to talk with him downstairs. Hmm I thought. I kinda figured what he was doing since he had talked about getting engaged over the last month. We went back to his place and were getting settled in when he called me into his bathroom/extra room closet area) (sounds weirder than it was) with this interesting tone. I thought he was going to prank me some how like he loves to do so I was nervous, I peeked my head in and he looked unarmed so I walked in. He had that same overjoyed smile on his face like earlier, grabbed my hand and dropped to one knee! Was going on and on how much he loved me and wanted to start our lives together then asked me to marry him and pulled out the ring! I said yes!!!! It was such a sweet moment being in his apartment that we spent a lot of time in just growing closer. He mentioned he wanted to plan out this whole romantic thing but just couldn’t wait. I am so happy he did it just the way he did and where he did it 💜 – Amanda P.

10. Mine is… odd. We’d been together for 6 years and had two kids already so I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. It was our 6th anniversary and we went to this really pretty park at night. We were sitting on a bench by a pond talking. He was shaking so I offered him my coat, thinking he was cold. He said something along the lines of, “I want to show you how I feel about you.” So, being the romantic that I am, I asked him if he was going to fart on me (because that’s not an uncommon thing for him to do). Nope, he was down on one knee, asking me to marry him. A few minutes later, this creepy guy pulled up in a truck and just… stared at us… And then we went home and found like 8 deer just chilling in our yard. Exactly a year later on our 7th anniversary, we FINALLY got married. We just celebrated our 12th anniversary, happier and weirder than we’ve ever been! – Erica Z.

11. My husband (then boyfriend) and I liked to take our puppy, Dixie, for walks in a local park. There was a river nearby where she liked to swim and we would play fetch. One day we took Dixie for a walk and Brian said that he had taught her a new trick. He told me to climb down the hill and stand on the bank by the river so he could show me. I said no. The hill and bank were muddy and I was in white flip flops. He tried again to get me to come down, and I adamantly refused… again. Finally he got frustrated and said, “Get down here woman!” I said “Fiine, but you owe me new shoes!” Once I got to the bank, he told me to close my eyes. I was convinced he was going to push me in the mud. I said no. He told me to close them or he can’t do the trick! I begrudgingly closed them. When he told me to open my eyes, I saw him on one knee in the mud with a ring in his hand. The sun was reflecting off the river into the diamond and it was beautiful! He said “Will you marry me?” It took me a few seconds to find my voice, but I eventually was able to say, “Yes!”
The picture is the day after we got engaged  – Alycia E.

proposal stories

12. Ours was at the time an unconventional romance. We met online via a blogging website. He found my blog liked my writing style and messaged me. I was shocked that this super-hot guy wanted to talk to me so I immediately messaged him back, we exchanged AOL instant messenger screen names and began chatting. This was back when face book had just gotten started and was only for college students so we were on the frontier of internet hookups as it were.

Our first aim conversation lasted 6 hours straight at the end of which we exchanged numbers and talked for another 3. Talking to him was so easy and as cheesy as it seems I knew I found my soul mate.

We talked via skype, aim, and over the phone for 7 months before we knew it was time to meet. So he arranged to fly to TX where I lived and I picked him up at the airport. It was our first time meeting and we had already said I love you. We weren’t sure if we should hug kiss or shake hands! We went with a hug, grabbed the luggage, went to the car and proceeded to make out for a solid 30 minutes in the parking garage.

That weekend was a whirlwind but it was amazing. The time had come and he went back home and we continued talking every day. We visited as often as possible him coming to TX or me going to NC. Needless to say we spent a lot of time in the airport.

We dated long distance for 2.5 years talking for hours on end late into the night almost daily. Finally one visit in August he seemed a little more nervous walking down the hallway in the airport. We kissed and hugged tightly and I couldn’t wait to get back home so we could just hold each other.

As we were walking out into the parking garage he stopped dead in his tracks. I turned around and looked at him quizzically. He told me “I can’t wait one second longer to spend the rest of my life with you. (dropped to one knee) Kristyn will you marry me?” I grabbed his face and kissed him then said yes. He stood up and we hugged and kissed then realized we were still in the middle of the lane so we went to the car and proceeded to make out for yet again a solid 30 minutes. I kept smiling, giggling, looking at this gorgeous man who was going to be my husband. I barely slept that night at my parents cause I kept looking down at my left hand. He told me later “I know the parking garage wasn’t the most romantic proposal option but I wanted to surprise you and thought you would expect it with me dropping to one knee right there at first greeting, but then I knew I couldn’t wait another second cause I thought my heart would burst” He is amazing, wonderful, so sexy and the sweetest kindest man on the planet. I truly hit the husband jackpot.

So like I said ours is an unconventional romance but we are coming up on 9 years of wedded bliss. And are happier than ever before, you see for us, conventional is highly overrated. – Kristyn C

13. Paul was in his apprenticeship with the electric company. He was receiving his Montgomery GI money. He had told me his GI money stopped and he was having trouble paying the mortgage. One random Wednesday he said let’s go to catcalling nero(our favorite restaurant) so we went out and he was just like you never wear jewelry. I said cause I don’t have any. So he said want your Christmas present early?(it was December 10th) I said sure! Next thing I know he was on his knee and I was crying and shaking and calling my mom! I didn’t say yes till like an hour later!!! Side note: he was paying the mortgage just fine and his GI money didn’t stop. He said he had to throw me off because he was afraid I’d find out. – Christen V.

14. My husband proposed to me on Martin Luther King, Jr Day . . . in 2005. I knew it was coming. I helped pick out the setting/ring – the diamond in the ring was actually Matt’s mother’s. She passed away when he was in 8th grade. My ring is small, but it is so very priceless <3 

BUT, as the day got closer my husband suggested that since I had off from school (I was a teacher) on MLK Day, that we should go to the Art Museum. I responded, “it’s closed”. So we didn’t go. I look back now and we both laugh – Matt was going to propose to me on the Art Museum steps. That would have been awesome! But, me and my “know it all” self had to say “it’s closed”. Smh. Soooo … we went out to dinner and came back to his apartment. I really knew it was going to happen, but he wanted to set up the apartment in some romantic way – so I went into the bedroom that was an office and did some school work (lesson plans, grades tests, etc.). When I was told to come out – the entire apartment was lit with probably 100 candles. It reminded me of the Friends episode when Monica and Chandler got engaged. It was awesome. Matt said some awesome, sweet things before he asked me to marry him. I wish I could remember what he said. I remember they were extremely loving and romantic . . . but I just couldn’t wait to say yes!!! He did get on one knee . . . and I called my mom almost immediately. Not soon after, we noticed it was getting really hot. We were sweating. We realized that was because we were surrounded by about 100 flames . . . so we blew them out lol! That’s it, that’s our proposal story!!! What amazing timing . . . 12 years ago tomorrow!” Amy B. (from Prayer Wine Chocolate)

15. It was my 19th birthday, and he had the day off work, so we drove up to auburn (lived in Montgomery at the time) and spent a few hours there, just shopping. Then we went for a walk in the rain (I LOVE walks in the rain!!!) At my favorite park (Shakespeare park… I love Shakespeare). We were talking about Shakespeare’s love stories and he knelt down on one knee and his eyes were so blue… and he asked “Brittany [full name], will you marry me?” I said yes, of course. Then we went to my parents house to eat and open gifts, then we went together to pick out a ring! Then we announced our engagement to my parents and we went out to have dessert to celebrate! – Brittany S.

16. We were on a cruise to the eastern Caribbean 🌞🌴. He was nervous about bringing the ring 💍 down to Florida when we flew together so his parents brought it to their condo there the week before we left. We were exploring the ship 🚢 after dinner and he took me to the quietest corner of it where nobody else was and he got down on one knee and asked 😊 it was very ‘him’ because he doesn’t like attention and wanted it to just be us in the moment. We then spent $30 on two phone calls to tell our families 😂💸📱💑 – Kelly D.

17. Matt tried to propose to me several different times but I kept unintentionally  “ruining” the moment.

He took me to a restaurant (one of my fav restaurants called the Chart House in penns landing and wanted to propose outside where the suns would make my ring sparkle but I complained of being too cold.m, without knowing his plan.
So after a few similar failed attempts, he finally proposed to me at my mom’s house. We were going for a walk in my old neighborhood. While we were walking by the brook I used to walk by on my way to school when I was in elementary school, he brought me onto a big rock in the middle of the stream, mostly because he knew the lighting would be perfect for the diamond to sparkle.
He wrote a “mini sermon” that he could recite to you today because he still uses it when he performs weddings today. – Laura S. (my pastor’s lovely wife😊)

 

Sometimes, you know, a proposal doesn’t have to be this well-planned, timed out production. For some people the story is just as romantic without a big scene because we all know it’s all about the LOVE!

 

18. Here it is: We are in the car, going to pick up my step-daughter from her horse riding lessons.

James: wanna get married?
Me: I guess.
James: okay, cool. We doing pizza for lunch, or what?

The end. 😂 – Amanda S.

19. A ring burns a hole in your pocket. At least for me it did lol. I didn’t have a great plan, and figured I’d come up with one after I bought the ring. Then once I got the ring I just wanted to do it. Haha. We went to a concert and I proposed in front of her house afterwards. In hindsight I wish I had something better, but Sarah didn’t mind at all.  – Gary B.

20. I picked out my own ring and put it on myself in the car. Romantic huh?! But 16 years together and still going strong so it’s not all bad lol – Kimberly L.

21. I decided I wanted to get married and asked him if he wanted to. 3 days later we got married. Hahaha! – Amber S.

Last but not least, to me anyway…mine! Since mine involves something with sound that I wanted to share, I decided to make my entire story into a video so listen here:

Thanks to everyone who shared their awesome proposal stories with us!

Do you have a proposal to tell us about? Share in the comments below!

22 proposal stories that will melt your heart!

1 thought on “22 Proposal Stories to Melt Your Heart

  1. Very nice stores! I have been married 30 years. My husband is one of th most unromantic men I know. He asked if I would marry him, he wasnt even down on one knee. I told him until he gets on one knee it wouldnt happen. He dropped, I said yes 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *