By its very nature a wedding proposal is always going to be something special, but one way to make it even more memorable is to pop the question on special occasions. Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, Halloween, Mother’s Day – there are lots of days throughout the year when you can plan a wonderful proposal and make special occasions even better! Read on to find out more, and for some ideas to help kickstart your proposal planning.
Special occasions #1: Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is, of course, the most obvious special occasion. It couldn’t get more perfect than the day that honours love and lovers, which is why Valentine’s Day is the most popular day of the year for proposals, according to research from events company Chillsauce.
“We got engaged on Valentine’s Day, and it was perfect!” says Lysa Hillier. “I was whisked away to Venice for the weekend and it was without doubt incredibly special and exciting. Scott proposed on the little bridge by our hotel after a beautiful dinner and walk.”
Vicky Rawlins from Bristol was also thrilled with her Valentine’s proposal form her now-husband Tom, which took place at the romantic St Nectan’s Glen in Cornwall. “We hiked down the trail to a pool where you can look at the waterfall. We had this ongoing silly joke between us where if Tom had a bag or a box or whatever I would ask if the ring was in there, and that day he just got this little box out and said ‘it’s in here!’”
Vicky does have some advice for people who want to truly surprise their partner. “I didn’t have a preference about what day it was on, but as it was Valentine’s Day there was a little part of me wondering if it might happen. So if you want it to be a complete surprise I would advise picking a random day!”
But if you do think Valentine’s Day is the perfect day for your proposal, you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to creative ways to ask the question – think writing it in your card, asking over a romantic dinner, nestling the ring in a bunch of flowers… let your imagination go wild! And, of course, you could also consider using the expertise of a proposal planner to make it even more special.
Do you need some more tips to propose on Valentine’s Day? Read it here!
Special occasions #2: Christmas and New Year’s
Hot on the heels of popular special occasions for a proposal is the period in between Christmas and New Year – this is when the most number of engagements take place.
It’s not surprising why a Christmas proposal is so popular – cosy nights in, sparkly nights out and time spent with family and friends present lots of opportunities to pop the question in style. “Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year, and it’s the same for many people,” says Vicki Atkinson, editor of Simply Christmas magazine. “There are so many ways to create a memorable Christmas proposal – surrounded by the festive twinkles of a lights trail, at a cosy dinner à deux – even a snowy picnic if the weather is on your side – or a gift-wrapped ring box hidden amongst the other presents. The festive proposal opportunities really are endless!”
Thinking of making your proposal a festively flavoured one? We’ve got lots of ideas to get you started.
Special occasion #3: Birthdays
Your partner’s birthday is also one of the special occasions for a proposal. They won’t be suspicious of any secretive plans you make, as they’ll be expecting something for their birthday anyway. And there are lots of creative ways you can present the ring, such as putting it on the birthday cake, giving them ‘one last gift’ and writing your proposal on a birthday card.
It doesn’t have to be your partner’s birthday, either. “I proposed to my fiancee on my 40th birthday on the balcony of the 65th floor of the Rockefeller building in NYC,” says Montreal resident David Ferland McCollough. “The dinner was her treat for my birthday, but the setup was too perfect to not ask her there and then. I definitely wanted to propose on that trip, I just didn’t know when or where, but she presented the best opportunity!”
But beware, a birthday proposal doesn’t always have expected results. “Andy proposed to me on my 25th birthday,” says Emmanuelle Ginn. “We were having a candlelit bath together, listening to some classical music and sipping Champagne.” Sounds like the perfect set up to us! “But I turned him down as I had only known him for about 3 months,” she reveals. Luckily this story does have a happy ending. “Another six months later, he proposed again, by the Roman Baths on a torch lit evening, and this time I said yes!”
Special occasion #4: Halloween, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day
If you want your proposal day to be memorable but less obvious, you could consider one of the other special days such as Halloween, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
If you already have a child together, or are expecting one, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day would be particularly appropriate occassion for proposing, beautifully highlighting the importance of your family. You can also involve your child/ren, making it a real family affair – why not get them to hold up a sign, or present your partner with the ring?
Does your partner love Halloween? Then a proposal on 31st October would definitely be a treat! And again, the celebrations involved in the day mean that there are endless opportunities to get creative with the way you ask. Do you usually decorate a pumpkin together? You could carve the question into a pumpkin, or slide the ring onto the stem. You could propose while wearing matching fancy dress costumes, or give your partner a bag of Halloween sweets that also contains the best treat of all – an engagement ring!
Halloween is an amazing opportunity to plan a truly elaborate proposal – think flash mob, haunted house, a trick or treat trail. Again, here’s where the expertise of a proposal planner could really allow you to go all-out and create something that’s out of this world!