5 Good Ways to Propose to Your Girlfriend

You're ready to propose to your girlfriend? What do you know about getting married?!?! Just kidding. This is great step for you and your sweetheart; I wish you nothing but the best.

I'm sure you've been sitting there thinking about the fine details in your head - how to do it, where to do it, do I get down on one knee or two, should I dress up, should it be casual, should it be a surprise... and on and on and on. Let me brief you on how I did it.

I had the entire evening planned... I picked up my girlfriend after work... in a Jaguar X-Type 3.0 that I'd rented; it was sky blue. That'll open up your eyes if you're used to seeing someone in a Toyota. I dropped her off at home, went back and changed clothes and picked up my soprano sax. Yes, I know how to play it. I came back to her place and serenaded her for a half hour. We proceeded from there and went to the John Hancock Observatory and looked out over downtown Chicago. From there we went to this restaurant called Nacional 27 where we had great Latin food and watched people salsa... from there we went to the park where I attempted to recite a poem (which was really my proposal), I got down on one knee, and asked her to marry me. Although shocked, she did say yes. We went back to my place where I had more gifts awaiting her and we just hung out the rest of the night into the morning when I took the car back to the rental place and got my regular car back.

Was that a little extravagant? Perhaps, but that's how I wanted to do it, and I am only planning on getting engaged once in my life so I wanted to go all out. Do what works for your budget and what your girlfriend will like. Has reading my engagement story sparked any ideas for you? I have some other things you can do if you're looking for an interesting or exciting engagement.

1. Go the adventurous route - consider an engagement while bungee-jumping or skydiving or white-water rafting.

Celebrate your joint sense of adventure by jumping into marriage! Seriously, if this is something both of you like, then what better way to ask your girlfriend to marry you than by doing something you both love to do. Just be careful that you don't pull the ring out in a place where you can lose it... now THAT would be a tragedy! Maybe you verbalize it if you're in the air, and when you both land you pull out the ring. Just a thought...

2. Go the romantic route - a night at a fancy restaurant with theater or musical fare and painting your city's downtown red.

Be sure to have this planned and if you can, think of good backup options. Do everything from purchasing any tickets in advance, making restaurant reservations in advance, getting your outfit together in advance (and hers if you want to dress her up and she doesn't already have anything). Leave in enough time to get to places early. Consider your parking options. Do you want to rent a luxury car like I did with my engagement story? Think of places you can find one and then get it washed and detailed for this occasion. Perhaps consider a portion where you guys just walk and talk and take in the downtown scenery. That could be beautiful especially if it's at night and the weather is perfect. Good time to exercise those romantic muscles of yours.

3. Go the random route - just mix it in with conversation at a relaxing atmosphere and just say something like "so... would you like to get married?"

For some people this would be fitting. You and your girlfriend are just watching television and you have the ring in your pocket. At a boring scene or scary scene, or after getting that second bowl of popcorn, just pop the question. Catch her totally off guard. It may take her a second to adjust to your question and you may have to ask it again.

4. Go the family and friends route - consider an engagement in the midst of those who are close to the both of you.

For the family-oriented person this is a great way to include family and friends on your special day. Most families want to be an integral part of moments like this and they'll love that you considered them enough to share in it. Be sure to have a mix of your family/friends and her family/friends there and then surprise her at a great family restaurant or buffet, or at a place of residence. She'll probably know what's going on when she sees people from both sets of families/friends... and afterwards you can all enjoy each other's company as you realize the union that's about to take place.

5. Go the artistic route - music, visual art, poetry, dance... produce your engagement to her artistically.

Guys, if you can paint what she means to you... write about what she means to you... create a musical piece on what she means to you... choreograph a dance on what she means to you... or somehow let her know artistically that you want her to be yours for life... you have it made! Some people have to go to places and do external things because they're not internally artistic enough to express themselves like that... and there's nothing wrong with that. You as an artist though have a gift of expression that you can use at this moment to share your art with your future wife in a way that will mean more to her than any dinner, any show, or any person. It's a presentation of the heart, a labor of love, and an inspiration for production.