As Christmas looms ever closer, we are hurtling towards what is traditionally considered engagement season and one of you may be thinking it would be a lovely time of year to propose… so if you have rings and proposals on your mind here are ten tips for the perfect proposal to consider…
Before you think about the proposal
Are you both on the same page? Before you go rushing in hopefully you’ve already had a conversation about your future together – your hopes and dreams for a life together. If you’re worried about giving the game away then bring it up under the pretence of talking about friends who recently got engaged or married.
Ring – do you want to have one for the proposal or will you want to choose one together? My husband knew me well enough to know that it was something I would love for us to choose together and we also bought him an engagement watch at the same time. If you want to have the ring for the proposal will it be a new ring or family heirloom? If it’s a new ring it’s worth doing a bit of research into ring styles your partner will like and find an old ring to size from.
Traditionally you would ask the father of the bride’s permission but I think these days it should be more a mark of respect for your partner’s family to let them know what you’re thinking. Ultimately it comes down to what their parental relationship is and you will know that best.
Where and when to propose
Try to make it meaningful to you as a couple – key moments in your relationship can help inspire the location – where you first met, first date, favourite restaurant or perhaps the location is connected to a favourite movie scene or song lyrics. Is there somewhere that you can revisit to reminisce?
Will it be a public or private event? Will your partner want to keep the moment private as just the two of you or love having family and friends to share the moment with? Maybe a combination of the two – ask in private but have friends and family lined up to celebrate afterwards.
If you want to do an outdoor proposal make sure you have an indoor back up plan in case the weather doesn’t play nice.
Time of day could have a key bearing – an evening proposal after a tiring day at work may not be the best idea but after a relaxing day off may be great. Weekends away or while on holiday will always be a popular option too.
Will it be a surprise? If it looks like they may be suspecting and you want to get them off the trail then timing it with another event e.g. birthday, anniversary celebration could help.
After the perfect proposal
Share the news with your closest friends, it really is a happy moment to be celebrated.
Don’t pick up the wedding magazines too soon – take some time to just enjoy being engaged!
A little bonus tip…
…consider booking a photographer to capture the moment, then you can get some beautiful images like the ones illustrating this post…
And here are 5 iconic London landmarks that would make the perfect proposal back drop:
- Tower Bridge
- The Southbank – my personal favourite as it was where I was proposed to
- Westminster Bridge overlooking the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben
- The View from the Shard – with 360 degree views of London
- Hyde Park – the Italian Fountains are a particularly scenic location
Now a little disclaimer, as I must confess, that whilst I was putting this post together, (and even though it was my husband that proposed to me), I found myself increasingly questioning why it should always be the man who proposes to the woman? I very much believe marriage is a partnership and wedding planning should be too, I’m always careful to refer to “couples” not just “brides” on my website as I love working with both partners in the planning process. According to the New York Times women proposing to men is still very rare but this article on the history of why is very illuminating. Ultimately, I don’t think it should matter, I think you should go with whatever feels right for the two of you.
All images by Fleming Photo
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