I did it quietly and kept it between just the two of us. The big concert plans still happened but it was a gift instead of an event.  I'm so glad I followed my instincts and kept it quiet because if I had waited until the concert like I had originally planned the engagement would have been ruined.

Thanks to all of you for helping me plan out our engagement.
Want details of the proposal? Details of the concert below.

A message from the future Mrs. Daniel Pooler: Today, March 8, 2008 is the greatest day EVER!!! My true love asked me to marry him!!!!!! (of course I said yes, duh) I am so overwhelmed and happy I just cannot describe it.

The perfect proposal isn't always Limos and fancy props, it doesn't always have to cost a fortune. Does it?

If there is anything I've learned since starting http://www.ourweddingproposal.com back in September 2007 is that you can't think too hard at the proposal itself. I was thinking of this magic day for months and wanted everything to be so perfect but you can't always plan too far ahead. Some might argue this point but with my girlfriends situation its very difficult to plan too far in advance. She has full time work, full time school, helps out her grandparents and still has time to spend with me. I had all these huge plans to propose and I started to realize it doesn't really matter how its done as long as the commitment is there. I love her with all my heart and can't wait to have her as my wife. Does it really matter that I follow through with these huge plans that will probably give the secret out anyway? She started finding out too much as it was... For those of you planning out a big proposal you can't plan too much or you'll give out the secret too soon.  You need to be flexible and you need to be sure she wants a big drawn out engagement.

I created this website (http://www.ourweddingproposal.com) to share engagement story's with the world hoping to mix and match a few story's to create an even more amazing one.  I'm not regretting creating the site since it helped me come to realize what my "Perfect" proposal was going to be and it will in the future help others learn the same lesson.

I made her smile and she was overwhelmed with joy when I popped the question to her.  I knew it would be just as important to her if I did it on top of the Rockefeller Center, in an airplane, or took her to the first place we met.

I've decided that the planning and the stress involved isn't whats important. I haven't been able to sleep for months because I've been thinking about how this proposal is going to work out and if its going to be the "perfect" one . The important thing is the promise that you will love this person for the rest of your life. I'm ready to make that commitment.

So in closing I'd have to say that the "Perfect" proposal depends completely on each individual couple. In my situation big fancy dinners and gifts will not make my commitment any more important. To some, the big dinners and the fancy props will make a difference so you need to understand your future wife and make that decision for yourself.

I wanted it to be a surprise and by not planning a huge setup this was the biggest surprise of her life.


Dan
Webmaster
http://www.ourweddingproposal.com

My boyfriend and I were going to spend our two year anniversary at the Newport Aquarium, right across the bridge from Cincinnati. I was so excited because I had never been there before! When we got to the aquarium, we spent most of the day walking around looking at the fish, sharks and turtles. I was most excited for 2:30 to come, because we had tickets for The Penguin Encounter. This is a tour in which you get to meet three blackfoot South African Penguins: Paula, Simon, and Randy. My favorite animal is a penguin, so I was so excited to get to play with real penguins. When we got to the meeting place for the tour, my boyfriend and I were the only ones there. I was surprised, but I didn't think much of it. (Later I found out that he rented the whole tour just for us :) ) The tour guides came and took us to the room where the penguins were. After we entered the room, the penguins came up to Ben and I, and we were able to pet them and play with them! I was having a blast. About ten minutes into the tour, the tour guide told me to look up because Paula the penguin had something for me. I looked up to see Paula waddling straight towards me. She has a tiny envelope in her mouth. I reached down and saw three hearts drawn on the envelope. I took the envelope out of her mouth, and opened it! I immediately began to cry when I saw the most beautiful ring inside. I turned to Ben and said, "Are you serious?!?!?!" He laughed, took the ring from me, and got down on one knee. I was saying yes before he even finished the proposal!! Afterwards we took pictures with the penguins, and Paula proceeded to poop all over Ben!! On the way home I called all of my friends and family, and they all thought it was great that a penguin brought me my engagement ring!! :)

I met Amy in April 2005 at a women's rugby toga party at URI on a Tuesday that I almost didn't go to, but knew the scorn I'd get from my friends (especially Brian, my brother-in-law to be) for not going to a college party that was "all chicks dude!". So I went, and met Amy through my suave discussion of organic chemistry.


After a few weeks we started dating, and at Jake Johnson's 2005 4th of July party I told Amy I was falling in love with her, and she replied "and I you".

A week later I accepted a "6-month" contract offer in San Jose, California, and on July 18th, moved to Cali. Amy promised she'd wait for me, and agreed that I should take the job offer and escape the perpetual doldrums and depression of working at General Dynamics, it was the right thing to do.

After 8 months and countless 9-hour trips above the flyover states to see each other, I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Or, at least I was pretty sure I did, and living together (in California) for the summer of 2006 would help me make up my mind. It definitely did, it was the best summer of my life thus far.

In early June 2006 I went on a backpacking trip with my father in into the Grand Canyon for a few days, the spot was quite remote:


It was a 4 hour hike into the canyon to Horseshoe Mesa, and about 1500 vertical feet down. While camping there, we explored a deep, remote hidden cave known as "Cave of the Domes".
This cave network sprawls into the side of the canyon for hundreds of feet in a completely dark array of stalactites and high domed ceilings, and we used headlamps and a large spool of string that another hiker had thoughtfully left near the cave entrance to be sure we could find our way back to the sunlight. At one point I ventured somewhat farther than my father into the cave, and we left soon afterward. For lots of great pictures from our southwest trip, see http://www.furmanized.com/

At some point during the summer of 2006 I made up my mind to ask Amy to marry me. I started planting the seeds that I wanted to take her to the interior of the Canyon, as it would be a surreal spot to propose.

Fast forward to May 2007, when Amy and I had our trip planned to backpack out to Horseshoe Mesa. I hid her ring in a package of freeze-dried eggs, since Amy finds eggs pretty loathsome there was no risk of her finding her ring early. On our second day down on the mesa, we hiked out to the Cave of the Domes, and started exploring. Now, caves are tricky places, especially when you're trying to navigate an unmarked cave network based on a single memory a year old. I soon realized I wasn't going to what I was looking for by memory, and started getting desperate. There was no way was I leaving that cave before I found it! I enlisted Amy's help, mentioning to her that I carved my name somewhere and wanted to find it again.

After some hunting and lots of "what I'm going to do if I can't find this stupid thing" type of thoughts, we popped our heads up into a small dome, and I finally found where I had carved "Will you marry me, Amy?" a year earlier.

I pointed it out, and quickly dropped on one knee as she read my proposal by headlamp light. Her eyes widened and she smiled the big-Amy-type-of-grin with her whole person that only Amy knows how to smile, emphatically said yes and kissed me, and carved "Yes!" on the cave wall next to it.

I pulled out the ring which I had tied to a carabiner in my pocket, put it on her finger, we kissed, took a few photos,

and climbed out of the cave and hiked back to our campsite, where I had stashed two small bottles of champagne in my pack with two lexan champagne glasses.

We're getting married in July of 2009, and I really can't wait. I'm still living in California (now in Mountain View), and we plan to stay here for quite some time.

OK, My hubby to be Bill is working out of state. Leaving me to raise our daughter (pictured in my profile) So to show how much he loves me he purchased a ring and sent it to me. It's so pretty! I would have liked for him to wait till he came into town and did it himself but this way I see that he loves me by having a surprise like this show up unannounced. Now all I have to do is find a place to live. I'm at my parents house and that can only be good for so long...