Did he bake your engagement ring in the middle of a cherry pie? Did the Goodyear blimp fly over your house with a banner reading ”Will you marry me?” Or did she demand that you marry her now-no gimmicks, nothing cutesy-after a 15-year relationship?
Here are some of the ways you popped the question, and sometimes the cork:
– Grace: ”I had been waiting for a proposal from my Chicago fireman boyfriend for almost five years. Finally one evening he insisted on lighting a campfire in his back yard and snuggling up together with a bottle of champagne. I thought I would faint when those long-awaited sweet words came out of his mouth: `I love you, sweetie, will you marry me?` I should have known it would take a fire for him to do it.”
– Anne: ”The second day into our trip (to Disney World), we went to the Magic Kingdom. We were in front of the castle where a parade was about to begin. In front of hundreds of people, he got down on one knee, pulled out a velvet box with the most beautiful marquise diamond I had ever seen, and shakily asked me to marry him. The crowd cheered, I said yes, and a stranger took our picture.”
– Wendy: ”We had been dating for almost three years and I was getting frustrated in the relationship. He had started to fib about his whereabouts. I was becoming worried. He said he was filming his `family history.` I didn`t believe him. One night, he asked me if I wanted to see the tape. As I watched, there was a video of him playing ice hockey. He was having a great time and I was bored. Then he came on and said there was a problem. He said that I wanted to get married and he didn`t know what to do and needed help. He interviewed every family member from both sides. The only one who said no was the dog. All those mysterious outings? He was taping the place of our first date.”
– Tom: ”Jenny and I had been dating seriously for a year. On a getaway weekend in Denver, I began talking about `if we got married.` She stopped me and said, `Why if? You`ll never know if I`ll say yes unless you ask. However, when you do, it had better be romantic, memorable and unusual, and, of course, if I say yes, you`ll need to ask my father.` The challenge was on, as I am not very creative and her parents were visiting the next weekend. Time was of the essence. On the flight back to O`Hare, I went to the galley and asked who I thought would be the most accommodating flight attendant if she could make a marriage proposal over the P.A. Back at my seat, I knew that I couldn`t change my mind and that this better work. Two minutes later, the flight attendant announced over the P.A. that they had a very unusual form of flight entertainment in which all 298 people could take part. After the attendant asked Jenny if she would marry me, there were a lot of tears from her and applause from the passengers and crew.”
– Tracy: ”I had been going with my husband for a few years, and we shared a love of Fannie May candy. The only thing was that I couldn`t stand the fact that he would crack open the bottom of the pieces to see if he liked what was inside. If he didn`t, he put it back in the box and took another one. I thought this was gross and would complain about it. He knew that I liked dark chocolate filled with either a jelly filling or a creme, and would choose those just to get me angry. One day after dinner, he brought the box to the table and offered me a piece (knowing what I would take). I picked one out and sure enough, the bottom was cracked open. I complained and he suggested that I break it open all the way. I complied and found my ring! His proposal dried up my complaining.”
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What`s the secret to success with the opposite sex? Send your tale to Cheryl Lavin, Tales From the Front, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611. Please include your name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters become the property of the column.
