Congratulations on finding the person of your dreams that you want to spend the rest of your life with!

Now, don’t get too excited about the wedding, the house and how many dogs you are going to have just yet!

Focus on the task at hand and trust me, a wedding proposal is much trickier than you imagined.

It all looks so easy in movies. Just take her to a fancy dinner and propose while everybody chants “SAY YES SAY YES” but that’s a movie for a reason.

IT IS FAKE. 

When you have such immense love for your significant other, you will be trembling with excitement and fear while you ask the question that changes your lives forever. Your heart will be pounding and your tongue tied as you fumble for the right words to express those intensive emotions overpowering your very being.

Fret not, we are here to make your life easier with success tips that you should live by and common mistakes you should avoid at all costs!!

DO NOT:

1. Forget The Ring

I know some girls like guys who are risk takers and spontaneous. But going on a spontaneous trip to Japan is so different from going for a spontaneous proposal.

A marriage requires deep thought and careful consideration so it’s definitely not one of those spontaneous decisions than your girl will appreciate!

For starters, get a ring to show her that you have really thought long and hard about it and decided on a life together. It may just be a ring but it symbolises your promise and commitment so don’t do away with it!

2. Announce To The World

I know a wedding proposal is such an important event and you can hardly keep all this excitement in as the weeks lead up to the big moment.

But the more people who know about the proposal, the harder it is to keep it a secret (and you definitely want it to be the secretest secret there can ever be).

Unless you are planning to involve her close friends and family in the proposal, do not tell anyone besides those who absolutely need to know. Just as you are so excited to share the news, everybody else will be too and it might reach your girlfriend before you do.

3. Make It Flashy

Stay away from all those Youtube videos with “Best Proposal EVER!!!!” in their title, they are a trap. Although there are many cases of successful proposals, proposing in a huge crowd can be extremely stressful, for you and your girl.

You wouldn’t want your girl to be so caught up with the 100-men flashmob or a surprise proposal in the middle of a basketball game that she says “Yes” mindlessly (or worse, “No”).

Instead, it may be better to keep it simple and intimate with just the two of you. Give her enough time and space to ponder the question seriously and give you a genuine answer.

4. Read From A Script

Scripts may sound like a great idea to make sure you don’t miss out on anything that you want to say. But that’s the worst idea ever! Reading from a script takes away the emotional part of your speech. You will be way too focused on looking at the paper instead of the eyes that you will be waking up too.

Yes, you are going to stutter and maybe spout some nonsense midway during your speech but that’s what makes it so real and so you. So go ahead, look her in the eyes and tell her how much she means to you even if it’s going to take an hour to formulate the right sentences. It will be the best hour of your lives.

5. Freeze

Guys often think that the proposal is over when she finally says “Yes”. YOU ARE WRONG! The proposal doesn’t end until the ring lies comfortably on her forth finger (on the left hand). Way too many guys get so excited after the “Yes” that they just continue kneeling there and waiting for the ring to miraculously teleport to her finger.

In case you were still wondering, that’s not going to happen. You are supposed to take the ring out of its box and place it on her finger yourself, YES YOU. You’re going to think this is so obvious and stupid but you can thank us later.

Great. Now that we have covered the horrible mistakes, let’s move on to better things!

DO:

6. Check Her Ring Size

Okay so you have diligently heeded our advice number 1. Next, you will have to be well prepared when purchasing a ring. Don’t head to a jewelry shop without knowing your girl’s ring size and just choosing any one that seems like it. It is NOT OKAY to present her a ring that is about to fall off any moment, or one that doesn’t fit at all.

Ask someone from the family to steal one of her rings and bring it to the jeweller.

If that’s too risky, try her ring on your finger and mark where it ends and run to the shop before the marking fades!

7. Find Out About Her Style

You will need to find out about your girlfriend’s proposal style to make sure that you prepare the perfect proposal for her.

If she likes something bombastic, then gather her close friends, prepare candles, balloons and lay out a red carpet for her.

If she likes it cosy, then just keep it to the both of you.

You can find out about her style by “chancing upon” some proposal videos and trying to make a joke out of it while observing her response.

A proposal requires lots of detective work indeed.

8. Make Her Pretty

Don’t underestimate how important a marriage proposal is to a girl! You won’t want to make the dreadful mistake of not getting her to doll up for this special occasion.

She’s going to blame you if she has to pose for a #shesaidyes photo in t-shirt and slippers!

A good way is to propose on a special date like your anniversary so that she wouldn’t suspect it when you get her to dress up.

If all the special dates are too far away, then pretend to take her to an event or a family gathering. Do not ever act out of character!! Just do what you guys usually do.

9. Have A Back Up Plan

Welcome to the real world where things do not go as smoothly as they do in your mind. The rain is going to destroy your beach proposal, your friends are stuck in traffic with your bouquet and the ring gets lost in the cake you’ve painstakingly hidden it in.

You are going to need a backup plan for all those scenarios to keep the surprise going.

Time to show your girl that she’s marrying someone with foresight and has got things all planned out meticulously.

It’s going to be a nice story to share on your wedding day, but you’ll need a backup plan to even get there in the first place.

10. Hire A Photographer

If you are reading this guide, it means you already know how important a wedding proposal is for the both of you.

After all those efforts to make things perfect, it will be a pity to not have this special moment documented.

Be it a friend or a professional photographer, get someone to take down this meaningful moment.

You will both be so caught up in excitement that it’s easy to forget the speech you made and all the priceless expressions on both your faces during the proposal.

Get the entire proposal photographed or videoed so that you can both look back on it years down the road and remember the day that changed your lives forever.

SEE ALSO: 10 Breathtaking Destinations To Propose That Will Charm Her Into Saying “Yes”

Book A Proposal Photoshoot

A final tip from us to you. Hire OneThreeOneFour as your proposal photographer for a fuss-free planning and photoshoot with our professional team.

We do proposal shoots for couples all over the world and we know each destination inside out so you can trust us to recommend the best locations!

Find our more about our surprise proposal photoshoot process: Plan The Perfect Wedding Proposal With Our Expert Team Who Has Garnered 100% “YES”