Popping “the question” has always been a game of sorts. Once he’s decided that she’s “the one”, the task becomes finding a memorable way to surprise his love and have her say yes.
But in recent years, men around the world have been illustrating genuine creativity with their proposals, sometimes going to extreme and extravagant measures.
These men have tried everything. They’ve jumped off buildings, raced in high-speed car chases and even organized flash mobs. But not to worry, they all survived and in all of the following cases, their efforts were rewarded by that much sought after three letter word.
Ever get to the movies right when the lights go down and the previews start? This is what Tracey Wade and her boyfriend did one afternoon in May of 2008.
Steve (aka glomer888 on his Youtube account), led his girlfriend of 14 years into a dark cinema. Little did she know, he invited 160 of their friends and family to watch a movie trailer he produced in order to propose.
With over $2.5 million worth of donated film and video equipment, Steve had his friends play himself and Tracey in the film, their doppelgangers living out the events of their lives together.
Only at the very end did Steve himself appear on the screen, down on one knee in the last three seconds of the trailer. When the lights went up, Tracey said yes.
Another movie theatre proposal made the A-list more recently. On May 7, 2011, Jesse brought his girlfriend, Ashley Olmstead, to the Cinefest theatre at Georgia State University. He told her that a film he made was in a student festival.
He had all of their friends from as far back as high school participate in the video, holding up signs in various locations describing what love means and what he loves about her.
The film ends with Jesse himself holding a sign reading “I’ve got something to say to you.” When the lights go up, Jesse holds a ring and asks tearful Ashley to marry him.
Various flash mobs in all sorts of places have become increasingly popular in the proposal world. One of the Disney World flash mob proposals got a lot of attention, with Disney employees joining the man in the impromptu song and dance.
One of the more every day proposals used a drive-through deposit box at a bank. Tim and Jenny had been dating for a while when he decided to surprise her while she worked at the bank on day. He sent a check made out to her through the tube with “Will You Marry Me?” on the amount line. She said yes and her boss let her have the rest of the day off.
Another took place on a highway between Phoenix and Los Angeles. “JCassidy914” (on YouTube) decided on a drive-by proposal while Keleigh, his long-distance girlfriend of nine months, took her final road trip to see him in Phoenix.
He wrote in giant white letters “Will you Marry Me” on the back of his truck and sped down the highway to find her car. When he finally caught up to her on the road, he flagged her down and asked her right there on the side of the highway.
One man really wanted to make his proposal extra magical, so he devised a plan with a magician. Using the old cup and ball trick, the magician performed in front of a small crowd, making a small white ball disappear and reappear in the cup.
A few minutes into the trick, he switched to a small red ball. He then told the man and his girlfriend to crouch down to get a better angle on the trick. This was just to get the man down on his knees. The magician handed the red ball to the unsuspecting woman, causing her to stand back up.
He did the trick again making a second red ball appear in the cup, and then asked the still-crouching man to help him with the next trick. He told him to hold his hand over the cup, “make his fondest wish” and then snap his fingers.
When the magician lifted the cup, a small red box appeared. Already down on one knee, the man proposed, his girlfriend speechless.
Probably the most dangerous proposal of them all was a man who decided to quite literally take the plunge.
On a rooftop with a bunch of their friends, the man stood near the edge and made an announcement, asking for the ring.
His buddy intentionally overshot, throwing the little blue box over the edge of the building. The man leapt after the ring, seemingly plunging to his death.
His distraught girlfriend went running to the edge and looked down, only to find him smiling up at her on a giant landing pad with “Will You Marry Me? written down below.
These men have set the bar high, but not everyone has to go leaping off a building. With just a little creativity and originality, every proposal can end happily ever after.
Sophie Erber can be reached at serber@spartans.ut.edu.
Fake Movie Trailer Proposal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBggOmd0rNI&feature=related
Cinefest Movie Proposal @ GSU http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Efv-EegQSM4
Disney Flash Mob Proposal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpojZ0COU3Y
Jumps off Building Proposal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii56mvSG7Iw
Car Chase Proposal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIKjKpaHM2k&feature=related
Magic Trick Proposal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n2Gu78Xa5s&feature=related
Drive Through Check Proposal http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Qx7mrR2STKY