No, I'm not thinking of asking anyone in the next six months. Just curious as to how others have done it!

Here's how a good friend of mine did it:

He, Dave, dated Cynthia for SIX years before proposing.

First, he called several of his closest friends and got them in on his "proposal scheme".

Cynthia arrived home from work to find about five messages on her answering machine.

Message 1: "Cynthia, this is Jim. I heard what happend. I'm so sorry. Call me if you need anything."

Message 2: "Cynthia, Steve here. I can't believe Dave did this to you, especially after all these years of stringing you along. If you need anything call me."

Message 3: "Hi Cyn, this is Jack. Listen: if you want me to have a 'word or two' with Dave just let me know. I've got a baseball bat with his name on it!"

Message 4: "Hi 'You', this is Ralph. I heard what happend between you and Dave. Listen, if you want to get together to talk or anything let me know. How 'bout a drink sometime? Call me...."

You all get the idea of what Dave was doing: making her wonder if she was the last person to find out Dave had broken up with her after six years!! Meanwhile, Dave was hidden in a downstairs room in a tuxedo with a dozen roses and the ring.

About an hour passed before she ventured down to feed the cat. She opened the door, saw Dave, and, after six long years of wondering, he asked her to be his wife.

She made him wait four days before she said yes. They've been married three years now.

So........ how'd you all pop the question??

I'm surprised she didn't beat him over the head with the roses. What a nasty way to propose!

I have always had a dream of living on a boat one day. When the time came to propose, I came home from work, and told my girlfriend that I had decided to make the leap. Would she like to come and see our new home? Anything would have been better than our 1 bedroom apt at the time, so she jumped in the car and we headed for the marina.

Once we got there, I led her down the pontoon housing all the nicest sailing yachts. At the end was moored a beauty. 60', with a dark blue hull, classic lines and teak decking. As she stood there, dumbfounded, I pulled the ring out of my pocket. It was dark, but the box had a tiny light in it that really made the rock sparkle. She turned around and saw me on one knee, holding the box up, and trying to get the words out. She nearly fell off the pontoon, but not before she said yes.

Still don't have the boat, but it is a lot closer than it was 4 years ago.....

Awesome stories!
Mines not quite that romantic, but it was fun. We'd dated for about three years. Finally decided it was time. Got the ring, then my mom helped me to carefully peal open one end of a box of Cracker Jacks. We took out the prize, carefully steamed it open, put the ring in, and glued it back up. Then glued the box back together.
Janet and I were going somewhere, don't remember where now, in the car. I asked her to reach back to the back seat and grab the box of Cracker Jacks so we could snack on it. She gets it and we start munching away as we're driving. I waited a bit, then told her "Let's see what the prize is". She fishes around in the box and finds it, tears it open and just kind of looks at it for a minute, until she realizes this isn't just a cheep-o plastic Cracker Jack prize ring. I then pulled the car over and popped the question. Big hugs and kisses and a big "Yes!"
Funny thing is, I don't even really like Cracker Jacks, and she knew it, but still didn't suspect anything.

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Pretty cool.

Yeah, regarding my friend Dave, I would never pop the question like that: make her feel bad so that she'll theoretically feel even better when she adds the joy of the question to the relief of not being dumped! Maybe that's one reason why she made him wait four days before giving him a yes!

I had thought of getting [insert name of my future wife here] a dozen roses for her. I would take the thorns off of the stem of one of the rozes and insert it through the ring. Then I'd give her the rozes and wait until she saw the ring... then propose.

I think the metaphor of the thorns being present on all the roses except the one with the ring is a nice touch. Sure, there will be a lot of trials in the life of a marriage (the thorns on the eleven roses), but through our mutual love (the one rose with the ring that has no thorns), we'll get through them.

I mentioned that idea to a friend once, and he used it when proposing to his now wife.

Now I'm not sure I'll do that. It's been done once before and I want something new. Plus, I'd never use someone else's idea; it would have to be one of my originals!!

Anyone else??

Well, here is my story.

We had met with friends and were talking about future, kids, whatever. Somehow in the evening I made the remark, that I first want to finish the restoration of my fintail before I plan to have kids. Earlier the day we had browsed through an antic store and had bought some old driving school books.

Later that night Simone asked me, why I always try to avoid the kid issue (she was kind of angry) I told her, that I was kidding and that the answer to the question she has in her mind would be "yes" anyway.

The next day (we only can meet at the weekend) she asked, what exactly I meant with "yes"

So I scanned I pic out of the book we bought the day before and about which we laught a lot when we saw it (it originally illustrated, that the driver should distract his attention from the road ) and made a card for her which I sent her.

The new text reads: The "yes" means, that in the future I want to have her sitting next to me to distract me while driving. The "yes" means, that there might be kids sitting on the rear bench. The "yes" also means, that there might be rings at the fingers.



Well, she called me the next night and asked me, if I was serious.

So again, I said "yes"

So in the next future we are going to marry.

Kind regards
Eberhard

Just did it this past weekend.

Packed up her stuff put it in the car, made reservations at a B&B on the Chesapeake (St. Michael's - Wade's Point) and told her we were leaving when she got home. Made sure to clear the calendar and arrange for the dog to be taken care of. Once we got in our room, I did the on knee thing and she said Yes. Soooo now I'm gonna get married. Kind of an overwhelming thing. It's kind of funny, everything's changed but everything still feels the same.

Eberhard,

Pretty original!! I don't think I could propose via mail, though. I'd have do it in person so I could see her and be able to celebrate (presumably) right away!!

Thanks for the post.

Congratulations!! Don't worry, I suppose once all the wedding plans begin to take place with their inherant politics and fights, it'll sink in.

Another buddy of mine proposed in a pretty simple way. His girlfriend was over at his house for dinner. When she began to leave at the end of the evening, he simply dropped to one knee and asked her to be his wife-- right there in the foyer. She said yes. That was over ten years ago. Now they have six kids!

We were sailing in the British Islands and after a wonderful lobster dinner at Anegada I popped the question. We married at that same spot 1 year later. Lowell the owner of the resort was my best man.

When you think of little island in the Caribbean this is it they only have 1 paved road about 1/2 mile long and a 26 room hotel. The reef is the worlds 3 largest.

www.anegadareef.com

At least you guys actually "proposed".

When I am asked that question, I realize that i never really proposed to my wife.

We dated for about a year, and one evening while strolling in a mall, stopped over to a jewelry store to playfully look at rings. She carefully viewed and tried on several rings, until finally choosing a ring she thought would be perfect if I was inclined to propose one day.

I told the salesclerk to write up the ticket. My then-girlfriend was taken aback at the impulsive gesture, but I took the ring, placed it on her finger and told her it was a "promise" that someday I would make good on my intentions to marry.

Never mind that later that night she excitedly showed it to her sister and close friends, so I guess she knew better .

That was twelve years ago. She always loved the ring and didn't want to spoil its looks with an additional wedding band. So on her wedding day, she just removed it, and I once again placed the "promise" ring on her finger when I said, "I do".

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Now, I may not be the sharpest knife in the shed when it comes to relationships with women, but I see a GREAT opportunity here for you!!

Why can't you still think up something totally original and extravagant and go ahead and really ASK her after all these years?!

Sure, you're already married, but just think of how much she would love that!

My idea was to tell the girl that we need to go somewhere, then blindfold her so she doesn't know where we're going. From there, find a beautiful spot right on the coast, pull over, walk her (still blindfolded) over to a secluded spot, then take the blindfold off and ask the question.

Haven't done anything yet; I believe in taking things very slow...although I've been with Robin for over two and a half years now. I think she's the one, but I've seen too many marriages go sour to want to rush into anything...

That Anegada Reef place looks nice! I told her last night that she could handle the wedding and I'd take care of the honeymoon. I doubt it'll work but I'm trying. Is there any Scuba available there? I saw the snorkeling but I'm a big scuba fan.

Last night, the reality of it all started to sink in. I think I've been so wrapped in getting the rock, getting the right setting, planning the question and such that I haven't had the opportunity to really comprehend what I've done. Had a quiet night last night and realization started to hit me. I'm pretty stoked.

Waaaay, ahead of you there! We couldn't afford a decent honeymoon back then, so I plan to actually propose to her on our 15th wedding anniversary...on a cruise that she knows nothing about.

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Your right, but they primarily use American currency.