The more ‘different’ proposals taking place in the UK…

As you should know by now, we recently surveyed the women of the UK about how they were proposed to and reached a pretty clear cut conclusion that British men are bad at it. Sorry guys!

Don’t worry, it made us take a long hard look at ourselves too, but instead of getting defensive and hiding away under the sanctuary of cliché that was found to be favoured across the board, we decided it’s time to tackle it head on and alongside giving out the greatest stag do ideas, will be helping men however we can with tips on how to propose…

But having asked over 1000 women, there were of course diamonds amongst the rough – proposals that weren’t clichés, but instead those that went completely against the grain we had found to be the norm, and for better or worse, gave us something to read amongst the troves of festive, Eiffel Tower climbing proposals… and here are the best (and worst) of the bunch.

A Proposal of the Internet Age – Jess, 28

Some of you probably watched the Black Mirror: White Christmas episode (and if you haven’t, you definitely should!) which focuses closely on the impact advances in technology and social media is having on the way we live… and possibly will live in the future. Which is the same sort of picture this proposal story paints, with proposals via the internet and social media becoming more and more of a ‘thing’ – which in our eyes isn’t a very good ‘thing’…

“Due to me being on holiday with my friends over our anniversary, we had no chance of seeing each other – and I woke up on the day of it in my hotel to turn on Facebook on my phone and find out that we were no longer ‘In a Relationship’ with each other and a whole load of comments and messages asking what had happened.

I have never felt such a horrible feeling in my stomach but before I could even gather my thoughts my friends were knocking on the door of my room to ask what had happened. After a drawn out girly chat and lots of tears, I decided to forget about the huge bill I was bound to run up and call him… No answer.

My friends left the room to get ready to take me out for lunch and I just sat on my bed in silence, thinking of why… maybe it was me leaving with friends on holiday during our anniversary?

But then my phone lit up with a ‘relationship status change request’ from him… From ‘Single’ to ‘Engaged’ – this was quickly followed up with a post on my wall with a picture of him down on one knee holding a ring to the lens. My friends were back at my door in an instant, I replied ‘YES’, called and this time got through to him and the rest is history… oh and that post now has hundreds of likes, ha”.

The Embarrassing Proposal – Rachel, 33

Now that Facebook-led proposal might be embarrassing in one sense, but this one is embarrassing in another. We’ll let this one do all the talking – but at least she will remember it!

"My most embarrassing proposal happened whilst watching a rock band playing in our local pub... Towards the end of the first half of the set my husband to be got up on the stage and the singer invited me up on stage to join him (this all being pre-arranged without my knowledge).

The pub was packed, some 200 people watching our every move and my partner gets down on one knee and asks me to marry him. I say yes and the pub erupts, cheering and shouting, but as I turned around to face the band my heel got caught in the microphone lead and I stumbled backwards falling down the 3 steps leading to the stage, falling like a sack of potatoes onto the floor wedging myself firmly between the side of a bench seat and a speaker.

The singer quick as a flash shouts to the laughing crowd "ladies and gentlemen, she's fainted".

To say I was mortified puts it mildly, I'm just grateful there weren't any camera phones to the ready to record my clumsiness, I was left with a red face, a few bruises and a memory to last a lifetime”.

A Proposal Colonel Sanders would be proud of… - Beth, 23

Talking of music, we’re now going to take Spinal Tap’s lead and crank these stories up to 11, with a proposal that will always come with the precursor: DO NOT PROPOSE LIKE THIS:

“He proposed over KFC in the front room, very romantic...... He asked me to get him a chicken leg out of our bargain bucket and the ring was on the end of the chicken leg. He then got down on one knee and did the honours and the rest is history...we have now been together 12 years and finally getting married now”.

Do you want fries with that… - Sarah, 37

Didn’t think it could be anyway worse? Well…

“He tried first time in McDonalds. I said no - he should find somewhere more romantic. Then he tried Pizza Hut. Guess what - same reaction. Burger King was next. Yes you got it - as before. He even tried the local chippy and kebab shop. Did I say yes? Not a chance.

Eventually after a long day at work for him and me meeting a group at a London airport, he got down on one knee in my hotel room and asked me to marry him. I didn't (or rather couldn't) reply immediately because he had got himself wedged between the end of the bed and the table in the corner of the room and we were both laughing so much. At dinner that night he again asked and after the proverbial 'pregnant pause' I said YES.

Now with wedding plans under way he is suggesting having a "onesie" wedding and also for me to be transported to the church in the bucket of a JCB!!!!!! Married life certainly won't be dull”.

A Genuinely Good One… - Claire, 30

Okay, okay – these aren’t helping at all… aside from helping us laugh, but how about we round these off with what is actually a good proposal. The true diamond amongst the rough that should be seen as a shining light to any man planning to propose. Follow this amount of effort, this amount of thought and this amount of care and you’re on to a serious winner! Take it away, romantic man…
 

So there you have it, some picks of the bunch from what was a largely cliché list of women banging on about how they were proposed to over Christmas in Paris… yawn. Once again, if you want all the results, go here – and if you want to find out how the people inside our own offices proposed (or got proposed to!) head over here…