Mrs. Flamingo, Montreal, Canada
Age and Occupation: 25, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Nursing Student
Engagement Date: December 2004
Wedding Date: June 21, 2008
Venue: Imperia Hotel (modern chic hotel)
About Me: I am a passionate designer who loves anything pretty. I heart all paper products (eco-friendly of course). My passion revolves around anything considered glamour; vintage and modern. In my free time, I love reading Martha mags, designing jewelry and making a pit-stop at Starbucks for a chai latte. I'm also a chocoholic at heart and my family drools over my homemade truffles.
The Proposal
October 31st, 2007 @ 4:51 pm by Mrs. Flamingo
Ever since I was a little girl, I envisioned the perfect proposal by my Prince Charming. I thought that the question might be asked down on one knee, with a diamond ring in a champagne glass or perhaps something a little more creative like announcing it on the monitor at a Habs game. All these options would have been an excellent choice, and I would of been extremely happy regardless of how the proposal happened.
Almost three years ago, after we came home from a family party on Christmas Eve, Mr. Flamingo and I decided to open our gifts at the stroke of midnight for the whole “magic” aspect of Christmas, and because it was our first real Christmas together. We started dating 2 weeks prior to the 25th the previous year, so in my eyes it didn’t really count as our first Christmas together.
After opening all our presents, I noticed there was a little red and gold box left. I was completely clueless of what was about to happen. My sweetie grabbed the box and then proposed to me, and of course I accepted. But there was no getting down on one knee, no champagne to celebrate, nothing. At the moment I was ecstatic about the whole idea of getting married, but at the same time I was a little disappointed that the proposal wasn’t quite what I had imagined it would be.
My ring looks something like this; the diamonds on mine are a little smaller.
I found out later on that Mr. Flamingo asked my father for his permission first before proposing. I thought that was a nice gesture on his part, and by doing that he definitely gained points. The ring was exactly what I wanted, so his good taste deserved some points too. Now, we simply laugh about the whole thing.
What was your initial reaction to your proposal?
37 Responses to “The Proposal”
Mine was pretty much as special as yours - nothing spectacular but still wonderful!
i was happy. and yes he flew me to paris and proposed on pont neuf and then we went to an amazing dinner at a four star restaurant and then we walked back to the hotel through the heart of the city surounded by drunk frenchies. it was movie perfect, and all planned by him (with no input from me at all) and we had a wonderful weekend. However, if he had proposed in the living room while we were in our PJ’s is would have been just the same, an amazing moment.
My DH is a low-key guy and is too practical for Sally’s wonderfully romantic, extravagant whirlwind proposal (not that I would have objected to said extravagance from DH!). Yeah for Sally though! 
He had been cruising the net and brainstorming ideas with one of his buddies - but thought my dog might eat the ring, the waiter might lose the ring, etc. So in the end it was a secluded proposal by a stream in the woods. More “him” and I value that dearly. We are now married and that’s what counts to me!
I was happy and only surprised at the very beginning (I knew he’d do it over that weekend sometime– it was our anniversary).
Of course, the flowers he filled the apartment with were more trouble than they were worth– the cat chewed on a lily and was in the vet hospital for 4 days!
No way!! I wanted MY proposal at the Sharks game! I thought I was the only one with NHL engagement dreams.
Instead, I got it on a cliff overlooking the ocean at sunset 
ultra korean tradition is even further from what you imagined as a kid. my friend is proposing to his girlfriend later this month as a formality in front of their parents at his house. just presenting ring to gf and her parents. basically, introductions were already made on both sides and permissions granted. only thing left is the ring, which btw is the only americanized tradition in all of this. (korean guys traditionally buy a house, not a ring- which is actually much more practical.) so technically they’re already engaged…
Yeah, I wish my proposal was different too but I’m getting over it slowly. I’ve just pushed it to the back of my mind and try not to think about it because I still get to marry my wonderful guy and have a beautiful wedding, so I guess I don’t really need the picture perfect proposal too. But I am so hurt when I do think about it.
My fiance proposed at Christmas last year. We were spending Christmas with his family for a few days. I am very uncomfortable around his family - I’m not close to them at all, and he knows this. He proposed in front of all of them. I was so nervous I fumbled trying to open the box for at least a couple of minutes and he didn’t help me with it, and then when I finally got it open, he was on one knee and just said “Will you marry me?” Maybe I had overly lofty expectations but I had always imagined that when a man proposed to me, he would say something sweet about our relationship or how much he loved me or SOMETHING other than just launching straight into “will you marry me?” Also I’m quite a private person and I was so embarassed to share such an intimate moment with his whole family there. I completely censored my reaction because I couldn’t bear to cry or get too excited in front of them. It is sad for me because I can never get that moment back. I feel like he put no thought into it at all. He bought the ring and asked the question but he did nothing else to make it special.
The hardest part for me is that my fiance believes he gave me the romantic proposal of my dreams, and I am a terrible liar, so whenever he starts reminiscing about the proposal I have to change the subject quick. I don’t want him to realize I was disappointed with it. I guess a lot of guys think you just want a ring and the guy on one knee and the question, and the rest of the details don’t matter. I really think the details are what makes it thoughtful and special.
we got a package from the delivery man. I opened it. It was a loose diamond. 
Mr. GB knew I wanted to make my own setting, so… he just bought a stone. He didn’t ask, we just knew.
My initial reaction was of shock. I closed the ring box the moment I saw what was inside. I was not expecting it at all. Then I started freaking out and crying. I can’t dream of anything better than the Cancun proposal I got.
My fiance went far beyond any expectations I ever had… he proposed in an art gallery in front of a painting he had commissioned to be painted for us by a friend. It took months of planning & lots of help, but it was worth every second. I was so shocked that even as he was down on his knee my mind still couldn’t grasp what was happening- mind you, one would think that the painting of a “proposal taking place in an art gallery” next to a title with our names on it would have been a clue, but no, I was still buying his “let’s go to this show opening” story It was the perfect proposal though, as I am an artist. He did really good!!
I love the ring style!
I am a runner and get really tight IT bands- the best physical therapy for this is what is called a friction massage- it is a VERY painful massage that loosens up the scar tissue that forms in the legs from running. It’s hard work to do, and horrible to receive. My fiance is a champ about doing it for me once a week when I am marathon training.
One day, we were taking a one minute break in the middle of the massage so I could catch my breath and he could rest his hands, and he blurted out, I know this guy who could show us some rings and I’d like you to come with me to help pick one out.
I was immediately baffled, confused, excited- (did I mention I have to take codine beforehand just to survive the therapy?- it makes me loopy). I asked, Is that a proposal? He kind of studdered and eventually got to a, Not exactly. But there you have it.
We picked out a diamond together and a setting the next week, and it arrived by FedEx. We were both home so I knew he had it. He’d said he was planning something, but instead, he just gave it to me (on one knee) when I came out of the shower later that day. He said when he saw the ring it was so awesome he wanted me to have it right away.
So, it’s not Paris-and-Flowers-and-Sunset romantic, but it’s the man I love. He says what he is thinking and doesn’t hold anything back from me. I can’t wait to marry him!
I love romantic stories and ours is not so much romantic… just a good story.
We were in Santa Barbara for our anniversary, doing our usual pre-dinner hot tub time, when he said “I went jewelry shopping for our anniversary. I hope you like it!” I’m thinking… holy crap he’s proposing! and he hands me the most god awful ugly bracelet I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I called him a silly idiot…that he would NEVER buy this for me, he knows me too well! He claimed that he had it custom made for me and that it was very expensive and that he was sorry and he thought I would love it. Now I feel like crap. On our way upstairs I started to cry… how could I have been so mean to him!? How could someone I know so well not know me at all!? We walked into the room and I burst into tears. Full on torrential dramatic cry. He felt sooo bad that I was so upset that he ran to the closet and pulled something off the top shelf. In his nerves his hand hit the door frame and a little black box flew across the room just missing my face by a few inches! He grabbed the box, got down on one knee and told me that the bracelet was a trick, he found it on the side of the pool, my real gift was in the box. Then he asked me to marry him. My torrential dramatic tears got bigger and finally I said yes!
We were wearing our bathing suits.
just a quick note… I’m moving to Montreal after I get married. My fiance is a native Montrealer, and I LOVE it up there. Oh, and go habs go!
i knew he was going to do it b/c my mom called me excitedly and told me that FI “talked” to my dad. i tried to ignore the fact i knew, but was thrown off a couple times, but then he asked to be with me alone…started the “i love you so much” speech, and he pulls out this box from his pocket where my eyes instantly filled with tears, and i cover my mouth cuz i was sobbing by then. he got down on one knee, and asked. i said yes. not what i had pictured for my proposal, but it was still perfect!
A. A friend of a friend was proposed to at a Capitals game, on the jumbotron.
B. I was proposed to in a puzzle, at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (made famous by the documentary “Wordplay”). I actually figured out the proposal/meta-answer without writing a single letter into the grid. He gave me the ring, but made me finish the puzzle anyway.
(The puzzle’s on our website if anyone’s interested; click my name, then Puzzles)
My fiance proposed the day we closed escrow on our condo. We showed up together to pick up the key from the seller but when I went to open the door, I found out that he’d actually borrowed ithe key earlier in the day and had filled the room with flowers, moved our diner table over to our condo, and had a trail of rose petals and candles leading up to the dining room.
I, still unsuspecting, thought he just wanted to celebrate closing escrow. Towards the end of diner, I was cutting into the ice cream cake he’d bought when he asked me to put the knife down because he “had something important” to talk about. My response was literally, “What’s more important than ice cream cake?” =)
I stated to pick up on it when he reached into his pocket and took out a little red box though.
My engagement story is one that always seems to have people saying “well didn’t you see it coming?” But I had no idea. My boyfriend woke me up on a typical Sunday morning asking if I wanted to go to breakfast. I am a huge breakfast lover so I was happy to go. He actually had to plead with me that morning to shower and such, since, I thought why not just roll out of bed for some pancakes? So we went to breakfast and on the way back to his house, he asked if I noticed we were taking a different way. Me, not paying attention did not notice. He said he had this place he wanted to show me, which turned out to be Messenger Woods. We got out of the car and went walking down the trail. I was prodding him for information like why are we here or why do you come here and he was not talking at all. I was becoming rather annoyed by this when we eventually stopped at an open area, he began a small speech, then got down on one knee and proposed! For me it was total excitement and surprise. It was fantastic to have something which started out like any other day, turn into the most amazing moment of my life!
Yeah, he could have been elaborate, but because this was so typical and normal for us, it made it more special and more of a surprise. I tell him all the time that this was the most perfect moment in my life!
Oh so many different stories… its fun to hear.
Mrs. Gummi Bear: I love the loose diamond thing. I think that is a unique way… I would of loved that.
Alaina: Montreal is a great place… and not because I live there… maybe we can meet up some time
Who knows, maybe Mr. Flamingo will make up for it on our 5 year anniversary… do i hear renewal of vows
We were sitting at a bar. He nudged me and said “I think we should throw a party”. I was like “okay, why?” He said “cause we are getting married”. and I said “really?” (all weepy like). And he said “yeah”. The the bartender walked up and asked if we had just gotten engaged and we giggled and said yes and we got free beer! It was PERFECT!
I was extremely blessed with a proposal that was thoughtful and romantic and 100% us. It exceeded my dreams and was perfect for me. When I think back to it I always smile.
He decided to propose during a work trip to Europe. He researched various locations and decided on the Lake of Love in Brugge, Belgium. He knows I am a private person and so found a quiet, secluded spot next to the lake to drop to one knee, open the ring box, and ask the question. I was completely shocked as I didn’t realize this was on his mind. It was also sweet that he planned back-up proposal locations in Holland and the UAE that we still got to visit and enjoy!
I had been pressuring my boyfriend to propose all summer before we moved in together in September. Well, September came and went and were living together in a beautiful home in Mississippi. One night, after I had gotten home from a meeting all of the lights in our house were off. I knew something was up and opened the front door, there were red roses and daisies (my favorite) everywhere and candles lit all over the dining and living room. On our dining table his computer was playing a photo slideshow with our song in the background.
He was no where to be found, so I kept shouting out his name. Finally, he came around the corner wearing a suit and tie and holding a small box. He said, “I know nothing ever goes right for us, but I really want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. When he opened the box, I screamed: “Oh my God, it is so big!” He was pleased and then I said yes yes!
I had always dreamed he’d give a long speech, but it was still really romantic and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I love reading people’s proposal stories! These are very good stories
JenniferB- aww, that’s really cute
tater- I think I’ve heard your story before…if not, I’ve heard a story very similar to yours. Are you from Illinois?
Mine was in the airport, in backage claim after a looooong flight/loooong and gruling business trip. There he was with the ring and a dozen red roses. It was adorable : ) However, I really jealous of Sally’s story. That would have been my dream proposal!
[…] was reading WeddingBee today and came across this post about proposals. I had to laugh cause while I didn’t think of it in that moment a few days […]
My proposal was only special because it was the man I love.
We went out to a nice dinner at an Italian place we love, had a lengthy dinner, and then he took me to the Water Wall in Houston, except that they turn the water off after dark. So we just sat in the park in front of it, talked about how much we love each other, and then he proposed. I said yes (obviously), but it was so dark that I wanted to get back to the car so I could actually see the ring!
It was cute because even though I knew he was going to propose, and I wasn’t nervous at all, he said that he got a little nervous.
my FI proposed by taking the ring out of his pocket (apparently the box was HUGE!) and saying “Will you marry me?”
Now in my imagination, and from all the stories I heard, I figured he’d go through this list of things he loves about me and end it by asking me to be his wife, or something similarly sweet.
And of course I said yes. I was just a teensy bit disappointed, but it was truly overshadowed by my excitement. Now, I look back (just a few months in our past) and smile because it was so like FH not to make a huge deal (there were people around us of course!!!) out of it to call attention to ourselves. I cherish the moment now!
His proposal was really sweet. A few months before, he had asked my father for his blessing while they were out golfing. My husband is Italian, so he learned how to say “I love your daughter. Will you please grant me permission to marry her?” all in Korean! My dad agreed and we all went out to celebrate after their golf game. Him and my mom were so excited, they couldn’t keep it a secret and told me over lunch. My husband knew our family is bad at keeping secrets, and later that night, my father announced our “engagement” to our families. We actually started to plan our destination wedding soon afterwards, but he didn’t actually pop the question to me until 3 months later. He was saving up for the ring and designing it, so it took some time.
One Saturday in September, he asked me if I wanted to take a walk to our favorite gastro pub, and we stopped by the local dog park to see some puppies. There was a huge concert going on, and we could barely hear each other. DH started fumbling around and internally freaking out because the bench he reserved was taken up by two beer kegs! Instead, we sat down on a log to listen to the music and I turned around to look at him, and he was sitting there with the ring box open. I screamed and then he asked. No down on one knee, but he said share some romantic personal words. We then went to the pub where all our friends were waiting for us, and we had a great party! My hubby planned it all out with our friends weeks in advance, so everyone knew before it even happened!
Overall, my proposal was everything I could have hoped for — perfect guy, fab ring, asked my mom’s permission, worked hard to plan a nice night out. BUT, I was slightly dissapointed for these reasons:
1) totally knew he was proposing that night because he made a big show about having made special (wink, wink) plans for Valentine’s day. This was annoying — I did not want to know when I was being proposed to! But he was so excited that he just couldn’t keep it a secret.
2) He, like a million other men in American, was proposing for Valentine’s Day — in my mind, a slightly-cliched, greeting-card holiday.
3) Finally, he didn’t have any big speech and didn’t get down on one knee. I feel horrible, but once that little box came out and he was still sitting in a chair all I could think — but thankfully had the wisdom to not say — was “OMG, aren’t you going to get on one knee?!?!”
But no matter the proposal, I still get to spend the rest of my life with a wonderful man and that’s what really matters.
Jennifer,
I live in CT, but I did read about a similar proposal in a bridal mag at one point. I was a tiny bit disappointed that I wasn’t totally unique, but I know my fiance had been sitting on the idea for almost 4 years & had thought up the entire scheme while we were on a date at The Met!
I guess at this point I just wish I had a better proposal story instead of being as much disappointed with how it went. I HAD dreamed of something BIG for a proposal. Not necessarily flying off to an exotic location, but certainly something that required planning and organizing. I did want it to be in public, either in front of strangers or family or friends… there had to be someone around.
I drove with him for three days across half the country when he moved to another state. He said later that he had wanted to propose at one of the national parks that we went by, but he didn’t realize the points of interest would be closed at the point we came by in late afternoon in Feb. So the real proposal story is that after 10 hours of driving and dinner we got ready for bed. As I was sitting on the bed waiting for him to finish brushing his teeth he walked out and said “I have something important to ask you.” At that point in my head I was like “are you serious… I’m sitting here in my PJs and no one is around and NOW you want to do this?” But he pulled the ring out of his pocket where it had been for the 3 days and asked if I’d marry him. I think I was hoping for something more special because I have always felt that the wedding is for the guests and family — the proposal is for the couple.
But a cuter story is what he and my family told me about when he went to talk to my dad beforehand. It makes me smile.
I had dreamed of getting engaged during the fireworks at Disney World ever since I was a little girl, and it was just one of those fantasies I never let go of, even after I grew up. My finace knew all about this dream, but convinced me that b/c it was all about the surprise to him, he would never in a million years propose somewhere that obvious and cheesy (even though I didn’t think it was cheesy at all!).
Well, he lied. He proposed two months ago as we sat on a bench watching the fireworks explode over Cinderella’s castle. He dropped to one knee, and said some beautiful things that are almost embarrassing to repeat. I started crying hysterically, because all day I had been a little pissed at him for ‘teasing’ me with Disney World when he knew I was dying to get engaged there. It was so amazing, and I am glad it got to be a surprise. He then shocked me by telling me he’d secretly flown to Kansas City to ask my parents’ permission over a month before that. When we returned to the car, he gave me one last surprise… two tickets to go visit them the following weekend! It was the best night of my entire life. I was so paranoid that he was going to do a thoughtless proposal with a ring that was totally not my style… now I realize that he knows me a lot better than I ever gave him credit for. Also, this is random, but it meant so much to me that he got on one knee… he was a catcher in baseball from childhood through college, so he has TERRIBLE knees. Apparently his right knee hurt for days after that. So sweet!
Oh… and it had absolutely POURED that afternoon at the parks, so we were completely soaked and wearing ponchos when he proposed. We both look like drowned rats covered in plastic in our post-engagement photos!
Tater-
Still a very cute story! And wow, 4 years…I can barely keep a secret to myself for a day, let alone 4 years. Good thing I’m not proposing…that would be disastrous.
I was so surprised I didn’t even hear what he was saying untill he was on one knee! It was my favorite day, Christmas! We were supose to go to his familys home to open gifts together and he was holding this huge pink box that was heavy so I believed it was to be my gift. Once we were at his familys home they asked me to come into the next room and there was my whole entire family and his screaming surprise! The next thing I knew he was on one knee and saying a whole speech and pulled out a ring! It was completely perfect and a complete surprise. We are very big on family and when I found out he asked my father for my hand 2 months earlier it made it even better. As for the big pink box, he put a bunch of canned green beans in there to throw me off.
[…] Can you believe it? Well I can’t! I never thought this day would come… seriously. With my extra extra long engagement, and my almost 2 years of planning, who knew it would pass by so quickly. And now it’s only […]
[…] I mean my wedding ring is no exception to this rule. Just looking back at what type of engagement ring I got from Mr.Flamingo, you can see that I’m no ordinary gal. I heart big rings, or should I […]
My fiance wrote out a lovely (if somewhat corny) poem about all the things he loves about me and all the reasons he wants to marry me. He also made a photo album of pictures from our last year together that illustrated the poem (like when he said that I challenged him to new adventures, it showed a picture from a rock-climbing trip I took him on).
We were supposed to be apart for Christmas — he on the East Coast and me in the Midwest with our respective families — but he flew to my parents’ (very rural) home state, where it was 20 degrees below zero, and had my parents (from whom he had asked a blessing a few weeks earlier) sneak him into the house. He surprised me in and then proposed to me in my childhood bedroom, then we went downstairs and had champagne and brunch with my whole family. Not only was it special to me, it was meaningful to my family that they were there to celebrate.
I really loved how much thought he put into the poem and photos and I love that I will always have a lasting “keepsake” from that day — besides my kick-ass ring, of course.
