Photo courtesy of Unsplash
When did jaw-dropping marriage proposals become a thing?
I’m talking about proposals that take place during bungee jumps, on mountain peaks, underwater, skydiving or water skiing. I am also referencing full-blown productions that are professionally choreographed, directed and video-taped.
Go on line, and you’ll see photos of a guy, who dressed himself and 47 of his friend as carrots, to perform a dance routine for his beloved as a prelude to the proposal. Then there’s the young Russian who hired a screen writer, film crew and stuntman to fake his death before coming back to life and popping the question.
Visit YouTube for a slew of mind-boggling proposal videos. There’s the flash mob at Disneyland; and a young woman who thought she was planning a surprise party for her boyfriend, but it turned out to be an engagement party for both of them. Then there’s the video proposal that ran as a movie trailer while the unsuspecting future bride sat in the audience. My favorite is the Korean lover who hired hundreds of people to create a Post-It proposal in the windows of a high-rise office building.
The most mind-blowing of the videos was actually a 2011 Fox TV show, hosted by Howie Mandel, called “Mobbed.” It starts off with a young couple sitting in a hotel lounge having a drink, when an unknown woman rushes up, accuses the man of cheating on her and throws a drink in his face. It culminates in an over-the-top musical extravaganza and on-the-spot wedding.
No wonder a lot of young men are reluctant to propose. There’s a lot of pressure to shock and awe. Without videographers, sound and lighting crews, it seems to be hard to pull off an acceptable marriage offer today.
Fortunately, there’s an app for that. (Of course, there is.) It’s a website called, “How He Asked,” which lists some 15,000 ways to pop the question and offers helpful articles that advise taking out insurance on the ring if you plan to propose midair or at the bottom of the ocean.
Other articles explain how to purchase a ring, 10 best locations to propose and seven tips on asking a dad to marry his daughter. Plus, there are lists of videographers and photographers who can record the occasion for posterity.
It seems Jack and I missed out on a lot of drama. The truth is, he not only didn’t hire a camera crew. He never actually asked me to marry him. When we first started dating, I told him I never wanted to get married. About a year later, I told him I changed my mind.
He was thrilled, and I was engaged.
Please use comments to tell me about your proposal.
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