Thanks to the Riders for letting me come in and hang out in the convertible! Nothing like chilling out with the top down, wind in my hair, and sun on my cheeks. Since it’s Friday the 13th, I suppose I should be talking about scary stuff. But I don’t really like to be scared. At all. So to me, this is just another day.
With one of the most romantic days of the year being tomorrow, I thought it’d be fun to talk about one the most romantic moments of your life. That one special day. Some are over the top, some are a bit cliché, and some have no romantic side to them what so ever to the outside world, but to each couple, this one day is special.
The Wedding Proposal.
(If you haven’t been proposed to yet, stick with me. I’ve got a question for you, too.)
A friend of mine is a fireman, and with help of his local volunteer fire department, he concocted the sweetest proposal I’ve ever seen. Seen you ask? How did I see it? The guy even thought to have the darn thing recorded! How cool is that? To be able to pop the tape in and watch that 30sec clip. It may not be terribly original, but I never pinned this guy (I went to school with him my whole life) to be able to pull this out of his rear.
But anyway, back to my friend. He dressed in full out fireman gear. Hat and everything. Got on the truck with his buddies and drove up to her house with the sirens and lights going. She came out of the house, you know wondering what in the heck was going on and whose house was on fire.
Her arms are out to the side with the big question on her face, What’s going on? And then here comes my friend (remember, dressed in full gear, helmet included). He steps off the fire truck, walks straight for her, all determined like, and drops to one knee. He pulls off his helmet and holds up the ring.
According to my memory, you can’t hear him asking on the video, but you can hear her squeal of total and complete shock. And her face is just priceless. Her hands come up and cover her mouth and then they’re all hugging and happy. By her surprise, I’d say the talk of marriage wasn’t one that came up often. They played the video at her wedding reception, which is how I was able to see it.
My wedding proposal wasn’t so flashy. Hubs is a bit more on the shy side and I think I would pass out from shock if he ever did anything this grand. I knew after about three months of dating that this was the man I was going to marry. I was all of 17 when I knew this, but hey, I knew what I wanted and I wanted my boyfriend to be my husband. Let me tell you, it was a long two years waiting on him to propose. The ‘talk’ came up often.
I’m one of those, I know what I want, what use is there in waiting? We’re burning time here and we do only get a limited supply of that stuff, you know.
Back to my wedding proposal, Hubs called me and told me he was leaving work sick. It was December (yes, I got cheated out of Christmas presents that year because he proposed about a week or so before the 25th), so I didn’t think much of it. It was cold and he’s an outdoor construction worker.
I was picking out a puppy at the time and was in no hurry to leave the cute little critters to go tend to my sick boyfriend who last time he was sick, passed it on to me.
Eventually I leave the pups and he’s calling me on the phone, wondering where the heck I am. I assure him I’m on my way and that he should shut up, get in bed, and get his rest.
I get to his house (finally, in his opinion), and in his room, I find not my sick boyfriend, but a bouquet of flowers. At the time, Hubs often gifted me with flowers, so I was trying to remember what day it was to see if I’d forgotten something.
I turn around to go find him and there he is, on one knee, big smile on his face and he’s holding out my ring. He asks me to marry him and I of course said yes. I try putting on the ring, but he slaps my hand away and says, “No way. I want to do it right so you can’t fuss about it later.” He proceeds to put the ring on my finger himself.
Not the grand gesture of my friend, but it’s ours and it’s special and I’ll tell my kid about it one day.
Last week on Grey’s, a patient told how she’d been proposed to in the supermarket—between the tampons and toilet paper. And you know what? It made me smile, because you could just see the love on her face at recalling the memory.
What was your proposal like? Heard of any funny ones? Sweet ones? If you haven’t been proposed to, how would you like it to be done?
Keri’s (www.keriford.com) been pounding at this writing thing since July of ’05. She’s unpublished, but hoping to change that as she actively writes everyday. Most everyday. She writes southern mysteries and regencies—both in romance.
If you haven’t gotten enough of Keri today, then you can visit her at her blog every Friday, www.EverybodyNeedsALittleRomance.com. Today’s even special there. All this week we’re doing Darn, Why Couldn’t That Have Been Me? Be sure to stop by for a chance to win a trio of books by Scottish Historical author Monica McCarty!
31 comments:
Mine wasn't so romantic but the hubs and I still laugh about it. I meet hubs 6 months after my divorce and 2 moths after the death of his wife. So, we weren't kids. Knew what life was and what marriage entails.
When we began dating, I was 26 and he was 32. I knew about 6 weeks into dating that this man would be around for a while. After we'd dated about 18 months, we were having "the talk". Hubs said (in a sarcastic voice), "If you want to get married, than you need to be dating guys who want to get married."
I thought about that and said, "You're right."
We broke up.
One week later, hubs calls back and yes, "You win. We'll get married."
That was 24 years ago. So I was right. He is the guy who's going to be around for a while!
My proposel came three days before my B-day in August. I was smoking ribs for dinner. It shocked the heck out of me! Nope, no tears, but a definite 'Hell, yes'!
Our first meet was much, much more interesting.
Oktoberfest en Tulsa es Wunderbar! I was dancing on the picnic table when hubster and his bro came over. Bro had met my GF at an OU-Texas party and she worked my hubster. He actually didn't realize I was on the table until I got off and reached his belly button! Yeah, he told me to get back up there--Trust me, it's easier for kissing! Why do you think we bought a house that has stairs??
I'm a sucker for sentiment, Keri and I think the fireman story is darling!
Okay how sad is it that I have to use one of my kids as an example? But my husband and I sort of drifted there; there wasn't a grand gesture.
But my sons...sheesh! They do it up right, three of them so far. But my third son's story is the cutest:
Number 3 is quite creative, LOL. And when he was dating my d-i-l she once asked him to tell her a story. She was thinking a fairy tale or something but he made up a story about a bunny and a little tiny princess (her--she weighs all of a hundred pounds) and that became 'their' story.
So for the proposal he chooses this new restaurant that just happened to be empty the night they were there. So they had candles and music and the place to themselves. He hands her this 'book' he made, complete with pictures from their lives and illustrations (he's also an artist) and it's all about a handsome prince and his little tiny princess. It all rhymes and tells the story of their meeting and lives together to that point and ends with a proposal and the ring attached on the back page.
So she's reading it a couple pages and then says, "Geez, how long is this?" and flips to the end...sees the ring, LOL!
That is sooooo something I would do!
Afterwards she went back and read the whole thing but you just know the story he's going to tell the rest of their lives is how she flipped to the end and wrecked the surprise!
Cyndi, I can so see your hubby doing that. And what had he been so worried about marrying you for in the first place?? :O)
Magolla, some of my favorite proposal stories are the ones where the girl was completely shocked. I mean, when you had no idea, the guy really put his feelings out on a limb.
LOL, Kylie that's too funny! And yeah, I probably would have been thumbing through pretty quick. especially if dessert was on the table and I wasn't reading aloud.
That book is such a sweet idea. Not only does she have a keepsake of her proposal but also of their dating lives. I hope he's working on another book for when they reach milestone anniv!
Oh, I love these stories, Keri. Fun idea!!
My dh and I were in Hawaii on vacation. The proposal itself wasn't all that much of a surprise because we'd been talking about it a lot, but the night we got engaged we went to an asian restaurant and my dh's fortune said "Wedding ring like tourniquet cut off circulation."
I'm sure it made him think twice.
Great Blog, Keri and perfect for us romantics. Like Kylie, Tom and I just sort of drifted that way. No grand gesture - but i do remember everything about the night. How cold it was outside, what was playing on the stereo, what I was wearing - what he was wearing. Makes me go all gooey inside thinking about such a wonderful memory again. Thanks for that!
I wonder how often he thinks about that fortune, Helen? What I love about proposal stories is each one is so sweet to the couple.
And what part of Hawaii? Hubs and I went to Maui for our honeymoon.
You know, Cindy. I can remember everything about the night I met my hubby, but I can't even remember what color flowers I got when he proposed!
This one is my friend, Melissa. She was divorced with a daughter. She'd been dating Phillip for a while but it didn't seem to be going anywhere. His sister won a trip to France and had asked Melissa to go. (there were four on the trip) When the time came for the trip, Melissa didn't want to go. She was sick and Phillip was going to be going too and they were shaky ground. But her mother and sister insisted she go. Melissa dragged herself on the plane, figuring this trip would be the swan song for her and Phillip. One night he took her to dinner at one of the most expensive restaurants in Paris. After dinner, he had a limo waiting. They drove to the Eiffle Tower. It was almost midnight. She didn't want to get out of the car. Phillip insisted. She got out and under the Eiffle Tower lights, she proposed.
She was SHOCKED. She screamed YES and startled the sleeping pigeons, who fly into the air, as though on cue. Then all the nights at the tower went out, leaving them hugging the dark.
Very romantic, huh?
Yes, they got married. They have a son now.
Cute story, Cyndi!
Keri - we were on Oahu. And we both retell that story all the time.
Thanks for blogging, Keri. How come we don't have any pics of you???
I have a friend whose boyfriend somehow talked the local Science Museum into letting him put up a huge poster board kind of thing. It was absolutely professional looking. It was kind of the history of the world. Started with a meteor and ended with pictures of him and her meeting etc. So he took her to the museum and she was perusing the board when it all dawned on her and he proposed. I only saw it because it was in the Minneapolis Trib.
Very sweet...and a lot of work.
Oh, and Keri, best of luck getting pubbed.
Keri, that was great.
My ex (I know, talking about a wedding proposal and he's now my ex), and I had decided to not see each other for an entire weekend. Which was torture since we were together every single day.
I went to stay the weekend with my mom and on Saturday morning he called. I told my mom to tell him to call my apartment Sunday night, but he kept calling back.
Finally he told my mom he need to talk to me because we were getting married. Yep, he pretty much told my mother before me.
Later that day at the pool he asked me and I said yes. Not really romantic, but back then it seemed great.
I'm with the "no grad gesture" crowd. We talked about marriage, but I was in MA finishing college and Clyde was in Montana working on a ranch. (Have I mentioned I married a cowboy?) He got drafted, so we had 2 weeks between my graduation and the day he had to catch the bus to boot camp. He thought we should just get married. I thought a wedding would be nice. I won. We got married in October--I picked him up at the airport and took him to the church, where the wedding awaited--and we had one month before he shipped out to Korea. (We were lucky. There was a war going on in Vietnam.)
I do have a photographic memory of the day we met.
Kylie, like you, my best proposal story comes from one of my kids--Princess Elizabeth. Her dh planned to propose on Jan 1, 2000. He had the reservation at the restaurant, etc. But she was sick. Not seriously, but enough to make her too crabby for a proposal. He decided to save it for the next holiday. Ground Hog's Day. There being no Ground Hog monument hereabouts, he opted for a giant beagle. He got down on one knee at Camp Snoopy in the Mall of America in front of Lucy and everyone.
Lois, thanks for having me! My body put on 15lbs and is stubbornly refusing to let loose of them. I don’t know why my body didn’t consult my brain on this decision first, but in any event, that’s why you don’t have a picture of me :O) I think they’re striking against one another. I can just see the fat in my thighs and rear kicked back in a recliner with picket signs.
That’s neat when the proposers think to incorporate places like museums. That takes a lot time and thought process.
My darling' fiance - the rockcrawlin' chef - scared the bejesus out of me when he proposed. I'd just returned from being out of town and he'd "rescued" my youngest son when my ex-husband kicked him out of the house while I was out of town. Rockcrawlin' chef was wondering outloud if he'd done the right thing and I told him that he always had to trust his heart. When I said that, he jumped out of bed and went to his dresser and my heart just plummeted - after all, we'd only been together a few weeks and I just knew he'd come to his senses and he was going to follow his heart right out of my life. I froze. Absolutely froze.
He returned to the bed with my engagement ring and asked me to marry him. I went from being absolutely crushed to elated. I think I probably stared at that ring with tears running down my face for a good ten minutes. I was afraid that if I touched it, it would disappear. It seemed like forever before I could finally talk and tell him yes.
Vicki, that’s funny. The man was desperate enough to get your mom involved! Hubs did the whole ask my fathers thing. He called my real dad and he said they talked and talked about marriage and life and family and so forth for 20 or so minutes. He called my step-dad (who I lived with and the hubby knows and gets along with very well). The conversation went something like this:
Hubs: “I want to ask Keri to marry me.”
Stepdad: “Okay. Hey, are you hunting the morning? Which stand? You know the bottoms are…..”
Kathleen, that's about like men. My step-dad was pushing for, "here's some money, go to Vegas." Hubs was all for it. Not me.
I can't imagine what these are thinking. Convincing a woman out of the day of her dreams?? Puhleeeze.
And Mall of America? Boy had some guts! Been there, at the Snoopy place, and that is one packed out mall/theme park.
GunDiva, that’s an amazing story. After only being together for weeks and he had a ring and knew what he wanted in his heart. Hold on to him!
And I know what you mean about it not feeling real. There's times where I look at my husband, look at my kid, and all I can think about is man, is this real? I feel like I'm going to wake up from a dream and have to be in home room in high school in the morning.
Someone I know had been dating her boyfriend for many years and the subject had come up many times in a casual way. Then one Sunday morning, they returned to his place after their coed softball league game. She was taking a shower...hair full of shampoo bubbles...when suddenly a man jumped in with her, fully clothed, and asked her to marry him.
This "someone I know" may still have shampoo in her hair...
Keri, this is a great post-- I love these stories. I had a lovely dinner out and a proposal on one knee. . . right before thdh and I were to chanperone a Christmas dance at the school where I taught. The Tinsel Tangle. I showed off the ring there and the junior high girls all went wild.
The second time we were standing in the middle of the garage, saying goodnight. I told him I needed more time. Then called him later that night and accepted. Not quite as picturesque, but just as sincere.
I was 18 and he was 20 but we went and picked the rings out together - he proposed on my birthday and did get down on his knee. We've been married almost 40 years.
My daughter's new husband had her go on a scavenger hunt - first message was left on his pillow then he had notes in places like - go to our favorite cd/song etc. until she ended up at a park where they had their first date.
LOL, that’s a unique one Christie! And yeah, that kind of surprise, I’d probably still have shampoo in my hair too.
Betina, I bet the poor thing thought you were saying no or would at least be a day or two! And it’s every bit as sincere. You probably remember what was stacked up around the garage with you.
40 years catslady-that's AWESOME! Congrats!
And the scavenger hunter to their first date site, very fun. Did she have any idea?
Hi Keri. I love reading all these great proposal stories- they are fun and romantic. Flyboy has always been very sweet and romantic but he is also very straightforward. So 10 years ago I was laying on my bed with my little sister, looking a the Penney's catalog. We were doing what all kids (and some grown-ups) do and circling everything we wanted. We were on the jewelry page and Flyboy comes in and says"So you wanna get married?". I laughed and said sure and then he called my mom and asked her permission. She was thrilled but warned him that he couldn't give me back! We had been together for about 5 years on and off so it just seemed like it was time. I always knew he was my forever guy.
I think she had an inkling lol. They had looked at rings together so she knew he was thinking about it - he proposed 4 days before valentine's day thinking she'd probably expect it then. When they were home for a visit weeks earlier he did ask my husband but we never said anything and didn't know when he was going to ask either.
I met dh on Dec. 23rd as he was passing through on his way to the inlaws and he stopped off at a friend's from back home. His wife had passed away 1 month before. This friend was renting an apt. from me and that is when I met him. 2 weeks later he phoned and asked me out for supper as he was back in town. I accepted and 5 months later we were looking for rings and I just put the ring on my finger and we were engaged. 1 month later we were married and this year is our 20th anniversary.
Keri!!
Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry I wasn't here to chat on Friday.
I had a good excuse, which I won't bore you with.
However, I loved hearing about the proposal. That was great, turning around to find him on one knee. Very cool.
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