You’ve planned a romantic meal, followed by a walk along the riverbank where you will produce a stunning diamond solitaire ring, get down on one knee, and utter the words ‘Darling, Will you Marry Me?’.
The meal is fabulous, an aperitif to start, a bottle or two during the meal, an after dinner drink which leads to two, three, maybe more. Your walk along the riverbank starts well but the fresh air has really hit you and by the time you get to ‘the spot’ you slip on the mud, drop the ring in a puddle and can eventually be heard stumbling over the words, “ I divn’t s’pose ya fancy marrying us d’ya pet?” She laughs and smiles, and eventually says ‘Yes’, but the next day you can’t remember a thing, and you certainly won’t have the opportunity to do it again.
So firstly a little tip, it’s such a special occasion that you’ve put so much effort and thought in to so go that extra step and try to stay sober. Now that’s out of the way, lets get onto properly discussing how to propose!
What to say when you propose may come natural to some, whilst others will need to plan and rehearse it over and over again. You needn’t burst into a 10 minute speech, recite poetry or sing to your bride-to be, put simply you are only trying to obtain a one-word answer (hopefully of a positive nature) to the question ‘Will you marry me?’.
Assuming you have thought long and hard about it and are sure that it is the right step at the right time for you both, you need to be positive. To help you to find the right words you must be confident that your partner will accept and with this in mind you can be sure that whatever you say, she is going to say ‘Yes’.
It may be better to work backwards – think about how you will phrase the actual question. ‘Will you marry me?’ is the traditional way, but for some relationships this may seem a little formal – words such as ‘How about it then?’ accompanied by a displaying of the engagement ring may be just as effective. For others who prefer greater formality, ‘Will you do the honour of becoming my wife’ may be more appropriate words. Alternatively you might want to plan to ask her with out saying anything at all and just follow it up with “so, will you?” (suitable, for example, after a waiter serves the ring to her as dessert).
Knowing the final sentence should help to pre-empt what comes before it. Perhaps a piece of romantic poetry will sit well with the question, or instead you may want to explain to her how much she means to you and how you want to spend the rest of your life together before jumping in with the final question. Whatever you choose, allow for some flexibility in what you are going to say - don’t have to have a speech mapped out word for word. Having just a few key points in your mind to help you say what you want will be enough. Above all, keep the proposal natural!
Finding the right words for the proposal may not come easy, but keep with it and we're sure that they will come to you soon enough.
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