You’ve finally decided to pop the question and you are determined to explore all engagement proposal ideas until you find the best way to propose to your girl (or man).
Sounds like you’re looking for a creative proposal, to make sure you’ll end up with beautiful memories for the marriage life to come.
For some, planning a proposal seems like the easiest thing in the world (if you love planning things out), while for others seems like a task. That’s why I want to share some of the most creative and romantic ways to propose, to help those of you who aren’t really used to planning things out (especially planning a proposal).
I do a lot of planning when it comes to my travels, and I often think of backup plans for when things go wrong. In a way, engagement proposals are the same. You need to have a plan, to know the people involved and the location. Coming up with the perfect proposal comes down to knowing your partner and aligning both of your wants and wishes.
Get inspired by these 11 engagement proposal ideas to help you pop the question
Before starting planning your engagement proposal, make sure you know for sure you and your partner want to get married, and that you see yourselves married to each other for the foreseeable future.
With that out of the way and feeling absolutely positive about marriage and getting engaged, let’s talk about some genius proposal ideas, to have your woman (or man) say ‘YES’.
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Go to a place in your city where you have memories
A genius proposal idea can be one of the simplest ideas of all.
What’s the place you love more in your city? Or perhaps what’s the place in your city with a special meaning for the two of you?
It can be the cafe where you had your first date, or perhaps the park where you used to jog together.
It can be anything, as long as you and your partner have at least one great memory in that place. So for your engagement proposal, ask your significant other to revisit that place, and walk down the memory lane together.
Once you had a great laugh, remembering those great old times, say that you want to have one more memory in this spot. And then you can pop the question.
Chances are that your fiance-to-be will be already full of emotions after remembering all those great times you were there, and might even shed a tear. That’s a good sign.
Ask the big question during a vacation
If you’re travel enthusiasts just like me, then there’s no other thing in the world that sparkles your engines like travel does.
You can go two ways with your engagement proposal ideas while on holiday. You can convince your partner to revisit one of the places you’ve already been to, and then take her or him to one special place you both like there.
Or you can plan your next trip together like you normally would. Then arrange with the hotel staff to get a special welcome, perhaps a ‘Will you marry me?’ message left on the bed made out of flowers or chocolates.
This is more of a romantic proposal idea. If you’re looking for a more creative proposal while on the go, get some to-go coffee and ask the barista to write “Will you marry me?” on the cup. Then hand it to your partner and wait for her or him to notice it. If you’re in the middle of a new city, planning to see it all, your partner will be too busy to notice anything or be suspicious about the upcoming surprise.
Eating your favourite dessert
Foodies will appreciate this engagement proposal idea the most. My boyfriend lives for dessert and when I asked him for engagement proposal ideas for this article, he literally said it has to involve some form of dessert.
So this is a great idea for all the foodies out there.
I wouldn’t place the engagement ring inside the cake, because there is a risk of eating it by accident or breaking something. But I would ask the chef to write the big question on the dessert plate with some chocolate syrup. Or, in my case, I would love to be asked by being offered the wine menu and have a custom menu being brought to me, in which I can read the question. The moment I would look at my partner, he would gently place the precious engagement ring on the table. Oh, and the rose would come just time to celebrate. You can guess I’m more into wine than cake for dessert.
Ask your partner to meet you somewhere
Ask your partner to join you somewhere in the city, sometimes after work. Basically, you need to find an excuse to not be with your partner and then ask them to meet you someplace.
There, you would have some sort of scene set out, such as a Merry Me sign, some flowers, balloons. You can even tell a little white lie, saying you’re preparing this for a friend, so your partner will not freak out until the actual moment when you’ll ask the big question.
Train a dog to bring the ring
This is particularly exciting if you have a dog, or if you and your partner are dog lovers. Either way, you would have to train your dog (or your friend’s dog) to fetch that small present, while you’re at the park or someplace with nice scenery around.
Visit a world-famous attraction
Yes, I know, this isn’t exactly the newest idea about proposing but it’s still an idea worth mentioning. If you’re both travel enthusiasts, I can’t possibly imagine a better thing than to get engaged at a world-famous attraction. Think about Petra, Taj Mahal or the Statue of Liberty in NYC and the list can go on.
Dinner with a view or point view over the city at night
Introverts might not find the idea of proposing over dinner so exciting, while the others are watching. If you choose a view point, chances are that will be less crowded.
It comes down to the kind of person you are.
Make sure your partner isn’t shy and would love to share the news with everybody (if there will be people at the location), before proposing in a public place, such as over dinner, at a nice, chic restaurant, with a great view. But if you decide that this is the best for you, then arrange for someone to film the whole thing, and to have the view behind you. It’s going to be like in the movies.
Set up a website to pop the question for you
If your partner is more of a tech person, you can set up a special website, which you can use to propose to her (or him). This can be a great engagement proposal idea for when you are at home. Or perhaps trapped during a pandemic. Who knows, it can work in so many different situations.
E.g. ‘WillYouMarryMeEma.com (put in your partner’s name in the domain).
Hike to the top of a mountain
Outdoors lovers will get over-excited to get to do what they love the most and then get proposed once they reach the summit. Your partner will literally feel on top of the world.
Write the question in the sand/snow
Obviously, it depends on whether your partner is a winter or a beach person.
But the proposal idea is the same. If you choose the snow, then you can either go on a day trip from your hometown to the mountains or somewhere with snow, if that’s possible. But the best way would be to book a mountain hut for the weekend. Then you will have to wake up before your partner and go outside to write your question in the snow, somewhere near the hut. You might need to get creative and use something to stain the snow if there is too much snow.
The same goes for the beach, but make sure to write your question further away from the water, to make sure it will not wash it away. This genius proposal idea needs a bit of planning ahead, to make sure you will find the perfect accommodation to pop the question. But I can’t imagine any other proposal for a shy couple, who loves their intimacy the most.
Do a custom puzzle together
While a puzzle might sound like fun for some couples, others might not even consider it an option to spend leisure time. Again, it’s up to what you like to do together. But if you’re into board games and puzzles, I can’t imagine a better way to propose than to order a custom made puzzle, that pops the question, once you finish it.
Don’t choose a 1000-piece puzzle, so you won’t have to wait for days to finish it. Also, perhaps it might be a good idea to hide some key pieces, so that your partner doesn’t expect to see the message before the puzzle is finished. Obviously, don’t show your partner the final image, it will spoil the fun. I bet that puzzle lovers will adore this proposal idea.
Engagement rings for all your genius proposal ideas
You can plan your proposal as simple or as elaborated as you want (and as your partner would want) but the only thing in common is the engagement ring.
Does your partner like white gold? Or perhaps rose gold? What about the stone for the engagement ring? What’s his or her favourite shape for the ring? And the measure. Nobody wants a ring that won’t fit or a ring too large that can easily slip off the finger and get lost.
The point is that you have to find a way to take your partner’s measurement for the ring, and that you choose something he or she will like.
Obviously, the best thing would be to have your partner look at some engagement rings and see what are his or her prefered ones.
Check out all these gorgeous options for the engagement ring.
How long should you date before getting engaged?
This is the question most of us think about when thinking about getting engaged and starting a family of our own.
While some women dream about getting engaged since they were little girls, others might not even consider it during their ‘20s and ever ‘30s.
There’s no rule about when to get engaged, married, how long you have to date your partner before proposing or any of that sort. People will always have something to comment about other people’s life, but it’s not them who can tell when the right moment has come for you. Only you and your partner know.
We only live once, so we better make sure we live the life we want.
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It’s much smarter to say “No, thanks”, though.
Haha, perhaps. But some still find marriage the best option for them.