Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Valentine's Day Proposals

I love Valentine’s Day. Besides being a romance writer, I’m a romantic at heart. I love the chocolate, the flowers, the special candle lit dinner, you name it, and I’m there.

Did you know that Valentine’s Day is also the most popular day of the year for proposals? And some absolutely unique. So, in honor of this special day, I decided to share three unique proposals I know about.

I have a friend who went out to dinner to a Chinese restaurant. Having made the reservations a week in advance, he asked the owner if they would make a fortune cookie with his proposal written inside. They agreed.

When the night finally arrived, dinner was all finished and the fortune cookies came out on a plate. He wasn’t sure which one had the proposal and was actually worried he might choose the wrong one. I guess that was something he’d forgotten to ask the owner. He let his girlfriend choose first hoping she’d choose the right one. As it turned out, none of the cookies had a proposal. He gracefully left the table using the excuse of the men’s room and spoke to the owner. Much to his chagrin the fortune cookie was inadvertently given to another table, and the woman gave a resounding yes to her boyfriend who had no interest in getting married. He later sued the restaurant. But not all was lost on my friend. He ultimately got down on bended knee in front of all the patrons and proposed. She said ‘yes’.

On another occasion at Thornton Winery in California, hubby and I attended a weekly jazz concert. After awhile, the same people attended and we all became quite friendly. On one such evening, just before Hiroshima took a break, the singer came out into the audience and walked up to the groom to be and handed him the microphone. No one knew what he was going to do, but we watched every move that he made. Suddenly he was down on one knee proposing to his girlfriend. She said ‘yes’ of course, because seriously, what else could she say?

On a shopping trip to the supermarket where I worked, my supervisor had been involved with her boyfriend for over a year. She used to tell me he was a romantic, but she didn’t know if they were ever going to get married. Sure, she’d hinted, but he wasn’t biting.

Valentine’s Day arrived and we’re all at work. Her boyfriend has come into the store at least four times throughout the day, each time leaving a small gift for her at the front of the store. We were so busy she never got a chance to open them. Finally, on his fifth visit, he was extremely frustrated she hadn’t opened the boxes and decided this time he’d get her attention. He walked to the front of the store with a huge bouquet of roses and over to the manager and asks to use the PA system. With microphone in had, he calls her to the front of the store. She dropped what she was doing and walked to the front of the store. While the microphone is still in his hand, he hands her the bouquet and an envelope containing the ring. When she discovers the ring he proposes over the PA system so everyone could hear.

Do you have a unique story about a proposal you can share?

7 comments:

Dawn Marie Hamilron said...

Love this, Carolyn. The son of a friend of my family proposed on Valentine’s Day on the beach at the Jersey shore. He rented knight's armor and bought a horse (which he sold back afterward--insurance issue) and rode along the beach to where friends had brought his girlfriend. He managed to get off the horse and onto one knee and proposed. Of course, she said yes. I wrote a short story about it. :)

Joan Leacott said...

These are so funny, Carolyn. All wonderful ideas for romance novels.

Lee Lopez said...

I love proposal stories, because in two marriages never experienced the unique proposal. My hubby and I had been friends for years, when we started dating, from there we just decided to get married and did in Nevada, by a new age type person. That was the funny thing about our wedding anyway.

Unknown said...

What a unique proposal. I'll bet he knocked her socks off, Dawn. Where can I find this short story you've written? It sounds like my kind of story.

Joan, I love reading them too. Such fun to see how creative some men can be.

Lee, you may not have gotten the unique proposal, but you got a great husband instead. That's worth more than anything else.

Rolynn Anderson said...

Great stories, Carolyn. I always wonder why the guy gets to keep the woman guessing...so much for 21st century marriage being a mutual arrangement. It may be part of the old 'gatherer' thing...with the male carrying the baubles to please the female. Saw a road runner (male, I guess) enticing a female roadrunner with a dead salamander the other day. She was impressed, trust me! Their antics almost made me miss my drive on # 16! Rolynn

Mona Risk said...

Carolyn, these are lovely proposals stories. I know someone who proposed while scuba diving. Good thing he didn't drop the ring.

Josie said...

Carolyn,
I wish I had a romantic story to top all of yours, but I don't. Love the Chinese restaurant story.
Thanks for a fun and interesting blog!