Photo: Captivated
First comes love, then comes marriage. But before the joy of wedding planning begins comes the biggest, happiest question of all: Will you marry me? Thanks to HowHeAsked, we found some real, romantic, and ridiculously creative proposal stories that will get you inspired, tearing up, or both!
My Best Friend's Wedding ended in bittersweet heartbreak for Julia Roberts' character, but for Caroline and Corbyn, that phrase has a much happier connotation. The pair met four and a half years ago, when Caroline's best friend married Corbyn's best friend. Both were attendants in the wedding, and although they weren't paired together to walk down the aisle together at the time, it wouldn't be their only chance...
See more: Design Your Dream Engagement Ring
After their introduction, it took six months—and three requests!—for Corbyn to even get his future wife's phone number. Nearly two years after their fateful meeting, they officially began dating. Corbyn's patience and persistence became a theme for their relationship, which endured "despite the fact that we were living 1,000 miles apart from each other, with no end in sight, just hoping and trying to see one another at least every six to eight weeks in person," he says.
When it came time for Corbyn to ask for Caroline's hand in marriage, he went about it the old-fashioned way.
"On a business trip to Houston, Texas, I snuck out to The Hill Country where she grew up and caught some time with her dad," Corbyn says. "A couple of prime rib steaks, two Dominican cigars, and several hours of conversation later, I asked him the most important question of my life (at least for a while) and he said yes." (Nothing like some male bonding to warm over the future father-in-law!)
With permission granted, Corbyn purchased an engagement ring and decided to propose two weeks later in the foothills of North Boulder, Colorado. All he needed now was a way to get Caroline to his picture-perfect proposal spot.
See more: Over-the-Top Places to Get Engaged
"I decided to use her completion of her first year of graduate school as a reason to celebrate," Corbyn says. "It worked like a charm. I was able to tell her that I'd planned a sushi date (her favorite) with a bottle of champagne to celebrate with our friends after dinner. We were going to pick up some friends after dinner, have some champagne, and head out for a drink on the town. The only thing was, our friends were very conveniently going to be 'late.'"
Sneaky? Yep! Once they left dinner and got in the car, Corbyn called their friends and put the call on speakerphone so that Caroline could hear their being-late excuse. She gave her own input about an alternative plan, but went along when the friend suggested meeting at a different location—the exact location that Corbyn had previously selected to propose, of course!
With a picnic basket and champagne in hand, they headed to the foothills. As their conniving friends hid in the bushes with telephoto lenses, Corbyn popped the question. It shouldn't be a surprise that she said yes!
Our Takeaways
1. Tradition, tradition: We love how respectful Corbyn was of the customs behind a proposal. Meeting up with his future wife's father, bringing along champagne, choosing her favorite restaurant—it's all proof that it's the thought that counts.
2. Plan a switcheroo: Corbyn and his friends were able to keep their story together as they tricked Caroline into going directly to the proposal spot—that takes some real dedication!
3. Location counts: In looking at their stunning engagement pictures, it's clear that Corbyn chose a stunning expanse of landscape that perfectly suited their intimate proposal.
Click here to read more about Caroline and Corbyn's engagement and don't forget to follow @HowHeAsked on Twitter!