Saying “I do” is easy, but getting up the nerve to ask the question “Will you marry me?” can be quite an ordeal. To help find the perfect way to propose, here are some useful hints on the “dos” and “don’ts” of asking the question.
“First, you must know if both parties are ready,” said Persephone Shon, a senior journalism major. “Do not set yourself up for rejection. Know the situation, and know it well.”
“A lot of people concentrate so much on what they should do and forget the things they should not do,” said Ilona Widjojo, a senior architecture major.
She strongly advised not to propose by e-mail. Widjojo stressed that proposing over the telephone, while at a sporting event, while at a bar or under the influence of alcohol are definite no-nos.
Glen Park, a recent graduate, said, “Be sure not to concentrate on what could go wrong. Take into account what could go right.”
A great proposal idea could be “putting the ring inside a single rose and having her play the game ‘he loves me he loves not’,” Park added. “By the time she reaches the inner core of the rose, the ring will have said it all.”
Most female students emphasized originality. The ring is secondary.
“Be brilliant and original,” said Shannon Casey, a junior marketing major.
“Dazzle her with surprises like decorating the room with scattered rose petals. Romanticize her with dinner and wine. Finally, give her a scrapbook with memorabilia. As she turns to the last page, there will be a ring.”
Sarah K. Samman, a senior from Saudi Arabia offered another suggestion, “you can create cards with riddles and private jokes that she must figure out,” said Samman, a double major in biology and psychology. “It’s like making her hunt for a hidden treasure. Put her in suspense. Girls love surprises.”
Of course there are some who would appreciate a full-blown, star-studded engagement. These types imagine anything seen in movies and celebrity affairs — such as “having a ‘Will you marry me?’ sign tailing a jet, or hopping onto a balloon and proposing to her in the midst of the open air,” said Tara Hadley, a sophomore pre-journalism major.
As for Katie Yoder, who got married last fall, the act of proposing must have one key element.
“Whether you choose the event to be extravagant or simple, you must maintain the tradition of getting down on one knee,” Yoder said. “Let the moment illuminate unity, love and devotion.”