Asking someone to marry you is one of the most nerve-racking experiences a person can face. There’s wondering how grand or small to make it, worrying if you’re being cliché, (and wondering if your partner wants cliché) and of course the immense courage it takes to look the person you love in the eye, and declare that you theirs forever. Many blogs are eager to list specific acts you should do (seriously, there’s no shortage of them). Nanina’s would rather help you find your voice and discover what works for you.
Act Out of Character
One of the best things about asking the question, is the surprise and excitement that comes with it. If you and your partner are home bodies, go out. If your relationship involves lots of jokes, be serious and sentimental, likewise, if you guys are classically lovey-dovey, (don’t be ashamed, that’s wonderful. We live in a cynical age.) throw jokes in. The defining point of a special occasion is that it defies the mundane, and there’s few things as special as asking someone to grow old with you.
Have a Build Up
Ever listen to classical music and notice how more instruments are slowly added in, rising in volume and tension, leading to its culmination? (It’s called Crescendo, if you’re curious.) That’s what asking the question should be like. Have flowers appear on their desk the day you ask, make a scavenger hunt where they get closer and closer to the question, (e.g. remember where we had our first kiss? I’ll meet you there.) have people allude to weddings: have their best friend absently mention a wedding dress/suit, and how good they’d look in it. This may diminish the shock and awe of the moment, but that can easily be replaced with built excitement.
Integrate it into Something You Share
There’s a reason why asking someone to marry you at a sports event is so popular. It’s asked while doing something you enjoy to do together. Love to play video games together? Ask the question after the two of you beat a boss. Both love concerts? Ask at one. Whatever it is you share, it involves being conscious of how you complement one another, and it goes hand-in-hand with why you should spend the rest of your lives together.
