Guys, wow. You’re dating the woman of your dreams. She gets your sense of humor, she’s outstandingly beautiful (there’s TRULY nothing in this world that can compare to her), and you want to spend every single day of your life with her.
She’s the one. It’s just that simple.
And so you know you want to get down on one knee and share your heart with her. You know you want to put a ring on her finger, but where do you even start planning for it?
Right here. Don’t fear dude, I’m on your side and you’ve come to the right place! Read this blog post and you’ll be prepared for the first day of forever!
1. The answer isn’t the surprise — the time and location are!
Make sure you’re on the same page as her with marriage and the next steps of your relationship. When you’re on one knee, you need to know that she’s going to say yes (although you can still be nervous!). Make sure you’ve talked about marriage and that you both know that a proposal is the next step in this relationship.
2. Buy a ring.
This part is really hard, especially if you want it to be a surprise. However, there are many ways to do this! First, you can have her girlfriends slyly ask her what kind of ring she wants (they know how to do this!). Pinterest is a great place to have her find ideas from. Her friends can just start sending cute rings in their group chat and start commenting on them and ask her to chime in with her opinion. This is a great option if you feel skilled enough to choose based off her general preferences.
Secondly, you can also just have her direct input! It’s normal for her to come to the jewelry store with you to either pick out a ring design she likes or even the exact ring. Honestly, it’s okay to straight-up ask her (or her friends) what kind of ring she likes and if she wants to pick it out herself! This is a great option if you feel super stressed about the ring or if you feel like your girl has a more aesthetic taste than you (ie. you think every ring looks beautiful and can’t tell the differences between them).
3. Book a photographer.
I’m first going to say that this isn’t necessary — some girls truly don’t want the moment captured. They want to be truly alone with you, and if this is the case, RESPECT THAT. However, as a photographer, I’m going to say that it’s really sweet to also have some photos to look back on to remember the moment and to share with family and friends for the years to come. If she even MENTIONS a photographer at some point, or even if she doesn’t, book one to capture the moment! And even if you don’t have money to book one, grab a friend to snap a couple of photos behind a bush. You’re not going to remember the moment and neither will she, so having a couple of photos to capture the moment will mean a LOT.
4. Let her family and closest friends know.
If she’s close with her family, make sure they know that you’re proposing and ask for her dad’s blessing (if this is something that she wants you to do). In addition, let her closest friends know as well — her best friends, roommates, and other close friends (not everyone obviously). These are the people who can help you figure out what kind of ring she might want, if she wants a photographer or not, and help distract her if you need time to put your plan into motion. Just make sure they all know it’s a secret!
5. Get her nails done.
If she’s the type of girl to have her nails done for big events (prom, formals, weddings, dates, etc.) or just for fun, MAKE SURE SHE HAS HER NAILS DONE. This is another important reason you should let her girlfriends know about the proposal — they can make sure she does this at some point. Whether it be a group nail appointment or a girls’ night doing nails and watching a movie, they will probably have an easier time getting her to do this than you.
6. Make it Personal
You’ve probably seen the flash mob proposals on YouTube or the epic sunset proposals on the top of mountains, and you don’t know how to make those happen for her. And while both of those are sweet ways of proposing, make sure that they way you choose is a solid representation of y’alls relationship! If you love to adventure and explore, propose where y’all first hiked together. If you love picnics at a certain park, grab your favorite food to-go and propose there! If you want to make a more epic move (flash mob, scavenger hunt, etc.), do it! Just choose something that she will love and don’t strive to meet society’s expectations of what a proposal will be. At the end of the day, she’ll be over the moon that she’s engaged to YOU.
7. Plan a Celebration
This is another optional piece of the proposal process, but since you know her, you’ll know if she wants an afterparty or not. A celebration with her friends is always a sweet time for her to feel loved, seen, and celebrated with her people, and allow her to show off her ring (and probably will cue more tears if it’s a surprise!). It’s also a great way for you to get a few hugs from your friends and have lots of affirmation that you did well with the ring (truly, I think that’s the most common phrase from these parties hahahahaha) and it’s a sweet time to just hang out with some friends, enjoy the moment, and allow the both of y’all to be celebrated!
This also doesn’t have to be epic! It can be a simple backyard party with close friends and family, a couple of trays of food, and the photographer (to take photos of y’all with your friends!). Or you can throw a bigger party with lots of decorations and catered food — whatever floats your boat!
8. Spend Time Alone Together
After the celebration, make sure y’all have time alone that night. Take some time to dream together, pray over your future together, and just be with each other without anyone else!! This season of engagement will be so so short compared to your years of marriage together, so start soaking up every single moment of it, especially before the chaos of wedding planning begins.
