Photo: Michael James Photography
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!
Love Actually taught everyone that Christmas is the time to say how you really feel—and Josh, a Netflix buff, used the romantic time of year to tell his girlfriend, Shereen, that he wanted her to be his wife.
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The San Francisco-based couple met on a Christian dating website, somewhat against the odds. "In the midst of middle-aged, mid-west women offering me awkward-yet-thoughtful 'you're handsome, good-luck in your search' messages, and for Shereen a surplus of elderly Norwegian men offering her their 'you're pretty, maybe we can meet when I come to the US' messages, we still found each other," Josh humorously notes. Fast forward a few years, and Josh was ready to propose on a rainy Saturday at Summit Tree Farm near San Diego.
"It was always a family ritual to get in my dad's Renault station wagon and drive out to rural San Diego to chop down the perfect Christmas tree," Josh says. "In the years that I had dated Shereen, our Christmas trees had only been tiny Trader Joe's tabletop trees, or a plastic one Shereen scored at Target. So, when it came time to propose, I wanted to start the next step of our lives with a memory I've cherished all of mine."
With that in mind, Josh enlisted the tree farm and a photographer to help pop the question. The morning of the proposal, Summit Tree Farm showed him to a back section with trees he could decorate far from the other patrons. He then took photos and videos and dropped a Google Maps pin to ensure that the photographer knew exactly where to go.
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Josh's plan went off perfectly. Once she arrived, he guided Shereen over to the tree that he had decorated with ornaments that spelled "Marry me." She giddily accepted his proposal, and after a short walk together, kissed him under some handy mistletoe.
Our Takeaways
1. Making memories: Something about how Josh's proposal ties into his fond childhood memories makes our hearts sing. We're guessing Shereen was thrilled to make a new Christmas tree tradition based around a marriage proposal!
2. A friendly photographer: Despite the rain, Josh's photographer was on the scene at the opportune moment. "Like a champ, he waited in the pouring rain to capture the perfect moment when Shereen and my's story solidified into happily-ever-after," Josh says.
3. Those ornaments: We love Josh's adorable proposal ornaments and his cheeky mistletoe. They're a great way to tie in the Christmas aspect of his proposal!
Click here to read more about Shereen and Josh's engagement and don't forget to follow @HowHeAsked on Twitter!