Wedding Blog
“I knew what I was getting.” That’s what my high school calculus teacher Mrs. Edgar said after she told us the story of her proposal.
Apparently, she and future husband (our gym teacher) were sitting around one afternoon. He was watching basketball and she was flipping through a wedding magazine because one of her friends was getting hitched in the near future.
Spotting a particularly lovely dress, she said, “That’s the dress I’m going to wear when I get married.”
Mr. Edgar, without turning his head said, (or so the legend goes*) “Do you wanna?”
Slightly confused, Mrs. Edgar responded, “Do I wanna what?”
“Do you wanna get married?”
The answer was yes, of course. And she wore that very dress to her wedding.
*Supposedly the first thing he did upon entering the honeymoon suite post-wedding was flip on the football game. Yes, you heard me right.
My high school self was horrified at this story, as were all my friends.
Mrs. Edgar shrugged off our concerns. She loved her man the way he was, so that his proposal reflected that — and wasn’t traditional or romantic — didn’t bother her in the slightest.
This is just one of many proposal stories that made me gasp over the years. They’re the kind of stories you tell over and over and discuss with single friends.
One of my best friends in college got engaged in the Walmart parking lot (though he did throw her a surprise engagement party later where he gave her the real ring). Another girl I heard of was proposed to at a Waffle House.
“How awful!” we’d all say. “I’d say no if he asked me like that.”
But now, after my own non-traditional proposal, I understand Mrs. Edgar and those other girls completely. When the love of your life asks you to marry him, it doesn’t matter how or where he does it.
And now, my own tale.
Eight months after we started dating, Mr. Bunny had to have surgery. The procedure was out-patient and was relatively minor, but the doctors told him he’d be out of work for at least a week and would probably need a little help around the house.
His parents came up for the day of the surgery and stayed with him the first night afterward, but after that, he was on his own. We don’t live together, so I packed my bag to go stay with him for a few days in case he needed anything.
We had been talking kind of abstractly about whether or not marriage was in our future up to that point, but I always assumed we meant the more distant future.
I don’t know if it was the Vicodin (he swears it wasn’t) or just how touched he was that I was taking care of him, but he suddenly fell quiet.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
More silence.
Then…
“Marry me. Marry me and I will love you and take care of you for the rest of your life.”
Mr. B tells me that at this point I hyperventilated and he had to hug me pretty tightly to calm me down. Personally, I don’t really remember.
I do remember what I said, though, and it’s not what you think.
“You know I don’t have an answer for you right now.”
WHAT?! That girl be crazy!
Yes, it was a little crazy. But I was SO surprised by the proposal that I wasn’t prepared. I’m a pretty emotional and indecisive girl, so saying “yes” or “no” to a life-changing question like that isn’t the best idea for someone like me, especially when I have my socks blown off from surprise.
I know, I know. I’m horrible. And I made him wait a week for the answer!
But of course, I said yes. It was the only answer I ever had to give him. I kind of kick myself now for not saying it right away. But on the other hand, we’d only been dating eight months! What did he expect for me to say?
Even though he didn’t make any grand gesture of love or have a ring ready to slip on my finger, I wouldn’t trade my proposal story for anyone else’s.
Mr. Bunny told me later that he asked me the second he knew for sure he wanted to marry me. The proposal surprised him as much as it surprised me! He asked me in his own time and his own way. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t be the man I love.
I’ll show you the ring now, but you’re going to have to wait to hear the story of how I got it. (I know, I’m such a tease!)
Anyone else have a slightly different proposal? No romantic treasure hunt or grand gesture or presentation of the ring on bended knee?
And for you singles, how would you feel being proposed to without any of the traditional trims and trappings?
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Share this post: My Perfect Proposal
I think every proposal- we have this expectation or hope or whimsical dream it will be a grand unique, well thought out moment– & they ARE but in sometimes un-grand ways.
My man ‘planned’ to propose during a semi vacay in the wine country. But due to extenuating circumstances (a near miss car wreck, record breaking heat wave, a beautiful nice restaurant that had NOTHING that we ordered) he proposed while we were in the comfort of our home, cuddling, in our pj’s, just us. And it was perfect. And it was special. Even though it happened right after I flossed my teeth, brushed them clean… sighed and dropped myself exhausted into bed! It is still special and unique for us…. =o)
Nice story! I love it! Congrats!
I love your story - it’s so sweet! 
My absolute favorite part about proposal stories is “the moment” - like how you described how Mr. Bunny asked you to marry him when the words couldn’t stay locked in his head anymore. I love it!
Haha, the story of the teacher wouldn’t scare me much since Mr. Lab and I are both HUGE sports fans. I’m going to school to be a sports reporter, so naturally, we’ll have a TV turned to the premier college football game of the day at our wedding reception! lol
Your story, and the words used during his proposal are soo cute. I completely agree w/ Miss Bear Cub’s analysis- he couldn’t keep the works in his head!
My fiancee didn’t plan a romantic dinner- he didn’t do any of the things I had secretly thought to myself as “awesome” proposal scenarios! He proposed to me while my hands were deep in sudsy dish soap doing the washing up. I’ve witnessed a few awkward glances amongst friends when they hear the story for the first time, but I don’t care. It’s perfectly him, perfectly me, and perfectly us.
My guy had planned out several different proposals, all which fell through bc he wanted to have the ring with him. Since he was having it made he was at the mercy of the designer. He first planned to propose while we were vacationing in San Francisco, then at Disney, then at a winery in Sonoma, then at our favorite restaurant. Finally, he ended up proposing in our foyer. I had no idea what was going on (even though I knew a proposal was in the works) but he dropped to one knee and said “7 months ago you walked through my door and changed my life forever. Will you continue to change my life and marry me?” To which I responded “Of course” When we moved out of that house, he found some extra tiles up in the attic and he took them and made them into a mini version of the foyer floor so we could take our proposal spot with us to whatever house we happen to be living in. It sits just inside our door now and is a happy memory of our special day every time I see it.
I don’t really tell people the fine details… but it was a week and a half after we’d met for the first time and we were in bed together (I’m no floozy but it was obvious from the start that it was right).
Hee hee, I love quirky proposal stories. Mine is kinda quirky too, since I got proposed to in an email, while I was sitting at home in one corner of the couch and fiance was sitting in the other corner, around 10:30pm on a Thursday night. When I start telling people that story they always kinda make a gasping face, but when I finish explaining then they get all “awww, so cute”
See, we were long distance for almost three years, and the internet played a huge part in our relationship (we kept in touch through endless emails and IM’s, as well as phonecalls and txt messages). When he proposed, he wrote me an email in which he quoted excerpts from emails early in our relationship and how we grew closer together over time, and then he finished the message with “I will be the happiest man in the universe if I could spend the rest of my life with you” and by the time I got to reading that part he was down on one knee in front of me with the ring (and I totally hadn’t noticed him getting up from the couch and moving into position while I was reading the email). I don’t even remember what I replied, but I’m pretty sure I said yes at some point before he put the ring on me
Mine definitely had a romantic setting (Mountains of Colorado). He didn’t get down on one knee, he didn’t go on about all the reasons why he loves me or wants to marry me. He simply pulled a ring out and told me he wanted to start the next chapter of our lives together in the state we both love. It was perfect because it was a reflection of us and the fact that we both want to move to Denver after the wedding.
We’d been talking, and knew that we’d been getting married for about five months. It took a little while for us to get the ring design going. The day the ring was ready, we went to pick it up and the jewelry guy asked me if I wanted to wear it out. Um, NO. They put it back in the box, and FH put it back in his pocket, saying he’d give it to me someday if he didn’t lose it first.
We got back to the apartment, and I was washing dishes when he walked up and asked me what kind of proposal that I wanted, like did I want a proposal on the Jumbotron at the Winterhawks game (totally kidding, we both hate hockey). I said it didn’t matter, just as long as he said nice words to me.
Him: “well, let’s get out of the kitchen then.” And then he took me to the living room and told me how wonderful I am, how happy I make him, and he asked me to be his wife. And then we exchanged rings.
And then that night we went to dinner at the restaurant we went to on our first date. Right when we were getting ready to leave, Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart were seated right next to us. Hilariously, FH didn’t recognize either one of them.
I love these stories! How could it not be the best proposal in the world when the one you love asks to marry you?!
My FH actually proposed while we were broken up. Since we are both in the Army, he was afraid that double-duty would be too hard, and he didn’t want to “ruin” my life by being gone all the time. But we had been talked for the week or so we had been broken up, and I had made it perfectly clear that despite the separations we will face, the time we had together was too wonderful to just give up. He said he would think about it (he was about a week away from leaving for 6 months). He also said that if he decided that he could “ruin my life” (haha) that it would be all or nothing. Either we would get married or not be together at all.
A few days later, as he was gathering some things from our apartment, he casually mentioned that he was going to leave his winter coats “for when I get back”. Thinking he meant his next trip to his storage unit, I said there was plenty of space, and he should just take them. Then he looked in my eyes and said ” No. I’ll need them when I come home to you in December.”
All I could do was stare at him with my mouth open. I had expected to wait for a few months before getting an answer, but he told me that he couldn’t stand being apart, that he realized that he could never be happy with anybody else. After I processed the idea that he was coming home to me, his earlier words came back to me and I realized I was looking at my future husband! He brought the ring back from his mom’s house a few days later!
I’d say my guy’s proposal to me was non-traditional! I took him out to dinner for his birthday earlier in the week. Afterword, walking through the parking lot, he bent down into a bush, said “Hey, what’s that?”, and came up with a ring! He didn’t get down on one knee, he didn’t even really ask (I said “Are you going to ask me?” and he said, “Well, do you want to?”) but it was perfectly him. He’s not overtly romantic and it was so unexpected that I still laugh when I think about it.
great story! my parents got engaged after “only” nine months (plus nine more of being friends) and they had even talked about getting married even before that!
Awww, such a cute story! And your solitaire is beautiful — can’t wait to hear more about it!
That is so sweet! I was “proposed” to after we had been at a BW3’s watching March Madness since noon, countless beers, and it was “hey, you wanna go to Vegas for my brother’s birthday, and maybe get married there too?”. That was it, I did confirm the next morning that he was in fact serious, and it wasn’t the booze talking. :). But that’s my guy :).
i got very ill with salmonella while we were traveling in Bolivia, but he was great at taking care of me while i languished in bed.
on one particular day in our dodgy hostel room, he had just brought me chicken soup for lunch. i was gingerly sipping it when i noticed him just gazing at me. before i knew it, he said, “(My full name) will you be my wife?” with the sweetest, most sincere voice.
i managed to muster enough strength to go, “ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” x 3 before i believed him.
so yes. i was all sickly, totally unglamorously rumpled in bed, there was no ring, the setting was blah, but it was still FABULOUS!!
you’re absolutely right that when your man decides that he loves you enough to want to spend the rest of his life with you, it’s all that matters!
My male friend likes to make up a lot of strange proposal scenarios for no one in particular, one including throwing a dead fish at the girls face (he’s a strange guy but he’s definitely amusing). So no proposal story could ever take me by surprise I don’t think.
As for my dream proposal…I have two ideas in my head that are on totally different ends of the spectrum. To me, the idea of a perfectly planned grand and romantic proposal is well…grand and romantic. I can’t help but fantasize about it, and since I’m single I often find myself imagining a faceless man (how creepy that sounds) on one knee with roses and candles and fireworks and all the cheesy stuff.
But I also have always had this idea in my head of being proposed to by someone who is “just a friend”. You know, the guy best friend that you’re secretly in love with but couldn’t possibly feel the same way… just hanging out and having him all of a sudden confess his undying love for you and propose… totally the opposite but for some reason I just think that would be amazing. (Taking the friends “friends first” to new extremes!)
Miss Bunny, I adore your story of how Mr. B proposed. It’s perfect. The way he said it makes me think of the most vulnerable someone can be, just spilling his heart out for ya with no reservations. Perfect perfect perfect!
I am SO glad you wrote this post! All of my friends are the ones who say “I would have said no to that” when they hear our *boring* story. I’m glad I’m not alone!
I think if a girl would say no to a proposal because it was “boring” then she probably isn’t ready to get married, anyhow.
Your story is great! I would have freaked out if my fiance had made some big deal about the proposal. We just aren’t like that. I think he felt bad after the fact that he hadn’t scattered the room with roses and candles like his friend had done but I don’t want any of that. His proposal was so perfectly him that it couldn’t have been any better!
^ not angry freaked out just confused like who are you and what have you done with my fiance?
You know, for a long time, I thought I wouldn’t want to be proposed to in public…but lately, I’ve been thinking that it might be fun. Maybe either with just family around (a la While You Were Sleeping) or following a loud, embarrassing song (a la the pilot episode of Alias.) The attraction, of course, would be that when you say yes, people applaud. Who doesn’t love applause?
(At least, this is the type of thing I imagine my current man would do.)
While we were ring shopping. There was another couple shopping too. The girl had the ring on and was admiring it. The guy just standing there with this dumbfounded look. Then all of a sudden he takes the ring off her hand gets on one knee and says, “Will you Marry Me?”
She said yes, they hugged and we all clapped. It was like something you see in the movies.
My sweetie asked me to marry him on Christmas Day at his parent’s house with all of his family there. They were in on it…I was clueless. We opened all the presents and I was picking up the remains and he handed me a package. I could tell right away it was a CD because of how it was shaped and I was excited because I had been hinting around at some CDs I wanted for Christmas. I opened it up and it was a Toby Keith CD. I thought that was strange because he knows I don’t really care for TK’s music. Then I realized it was a used CD. I was really excited then, because I thought a gift card to my favorite music store was inside.I opened the case and a small hand written note that said “will you marry me?” was taped to the case along with my ring that he had attached with DUCT TAPE! Yes, duct tape. I was speechless, which is a hard thing to do. I couldn’t say a word, then I started crying, and ran into another room so I wouldn’t make a fool of myself in front of his family. I heard his mom say “uh oh.” My sweetie followed me into the kitchen and said “well?” to which I replied, “hadn’t we better see if this thing fits?” We went back into the family room and his Dad said “did you say yes?” and I held up my hand and showed them the ring. It was perfect, right down to the duct tape!
I was proposed to on the SIDE OF A FREEWAY. Yes, you heard right. My FH pulled over and proposed where we had said our first “I love yous” almost a year prior while driving.
I loved it.
I love a cute ptoposal story, and I won’t lie, mine was amazing. But I honestly believe I would have said yes and been super happy no matter how he did it.
When we were in college, one random night, my now fiance gave me a promise ring right before we went to sleep. He wasn’t planning on giving it to me then, he wanted to make it into a surprise for christmas, but I was so happy, I didn’t really care how it was presented, other than the words he said that made it special.
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Mrs. Bunny, Columbus
Age and Occupation: 24, Associate Editor/Reporter
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Reporter
Engagement Date: September 23, 2008
Wedding Date: July 2009
Venue: Everal Barn, Westerville
About Me: Organized, but messy. I love art (all kinds). I don't have any secrets. I talk a lot and listen even more. I show love by baking. I'm timid by nature, but brave when it counts.
Mr. Bunny and I work at competing weekly newspapers, which makes it a little interesting trying to describe our work joys and frustrations without giving away too much before the paper comes out. In spite of that little hurdle, we've managed to build a pretty solid relationship in the short one-and-a-half years we will have been together when we tie the knot. I can't wait!
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