Will You Marry Me? It’s such a monumental and valuable question. It’s the first moment you promise to spend your life together. I find it so fascinating how marriage proposals have evolved from our parents or even grandparents generations. I’m not knocking our parents proposals because the ultimate importance is a healthy marriage; I just thought it would be interesting to find out how marriage proposals have changed with just a few decades. I asked my mom and a few of her friends how their husbands popped the question. This is what I found out.
~ My mom and dad’s engagement April 1983: My dad and mom were heading to her Kappa Kappa Gamma senior dance at UCLA. There is a old tradition that sororities do when someone gets engaged. They pass around a candle with the engagement ring, and the girl who is engaged puts the ring on her finger and blows out the candle, which of course is accompanied by lots of hugs and joyful screams. Well, when the time came for my dad to propose, he took her out to a nice dinner before the dance. He lit a candle and placed her ring with it. He handed it to her over dinner as a play off her sorority’s tradition.
~ Claudia and Matt’s engagement: They were taking a stroll through Central Park and with no ring needed, he asked if she wanted to marry him. 3 months later they were married!
~ Steve and Lisa engagement: While driving in the car, Steve looked at Lisa and said I think we should get married and I think it should be on November 11th. They married November 11th.
Proposals have gone from car rides to hot air balloons and dinners to unexpected venues. What I love about proposals evolving into a “special event” is not the big production behind the proposal but a man’s time, effort, and thoughtfulness behind asking such an important and real question. What a great way to start a new chapter in your love story!
How did your dad or grandpas propose? It’s fun to hear the stories! Cheers to healthy relationships and proposal stories.
Love,