Although getting down on a bended knee is still a prominent tradition in today’s society, some men, and women, take this tradition to the next level entirely. When searching “craziest wedding proposals” there is no shortage of ridiculous stories and You Tube videos.
One man printed a personalised children’s story book about a giraffe and a gorilla that told the tale of how he and his girlfriend fell in love. Complete with illustrations and rhyming sentences, he won her over when he presented his book to her in a library. Timothy Tiah, executive director of Netccentric, proposed with a series of cue cards that referenced popular memes, from Puss In Boots to fist-pump baby. Luckily the stunt was more win than fail. Bringing it closer to home, Cilliers Van Eeden (second year BA Sports Science student at Tuks) told the story of how his brother proposed to his girlfriend by cutting a hole in a tree and placing a ring in it. He then sent his girlfriend on a scavenger hunt to find the ring where he was waiting for her in a suit, holding a rose for every month they had been together.
Marriage proposals are almost always tear jerkers for some, but sometimes it isn’t tears of joy that well up after the question has been popped. One man proposed to his girlfriend on a “Kiss Cam” at a basketball game. After getting down on one knee and saying, “I knew I was going to do this the first day I met you, so I know this is going to sound corny but will you marry me?” she shook her head in disbelief, asked if he was for real and ultimately ended up leaving as he remained there shocked and teary eyed. Another man proposed to his girlfriend outside a Cinnabon in a shopping centre food court as this is where they first met. With a Mariachi band in tow, the scene caught the attention of quite a large crowd, only for his significant other to reject him and run away crying.
There is also the downright crazy. Believe it or not, these women actually said yes. A date in a cemetery does not sound appealing in the slightest, but one man proposed to his girlfriend in one by saying, “I bought these two plots for us. I want to be buried next to you. Will you marry me?”. Another man in Amsterdam caused the evacuation of an entire building when he rented a crane, planning to descend in front of his girlfriend’s bedroom window, play her a song and then pop the question. Instead the crane toppled over and smashed a large hole in the neighbours’ roof.
Proposals have almost become a public art form. Videos spring up on You Tube such as the Coca- Cola bottle proposal by Donnie McGilvray which went viral. With some help from Coca-Cola and the ‘share a Coke’ campaign, he lined up six Coke bottles in the fridge with the labels saying “Beautiful Eloise Will You Marry Me?”.
It may seem antiquated that men are still required to propose to women but there are many success stories of women proposing to their men. When interviewed, both men and women said that they would prefer the man to do the proposing. Brandon Geraghty(second year BCom Law student at UJ) said he would feel emasculated if his girlfriend proposed to him and Van Eeden said that “ a gentleman would never let a girl propose”. Most women said that they prefer the idea of being proposed to simply because of the romance that surrounds it although Mandi Venter (first year BIS Multimedia student at Tuks) said that she loves the idea of women proposing to men and that she would definitely consider proposing to her man. Times are changing and some people definitely do not mind changing with it. For those who really want to push liberalism to the limit, you can always marry yourself as British woman Grace Gelder did on 16 March 2014.
So looking to the distant future when you know you have ‘met the one’, dare to go the creative route keeping in mind that breaking your neck in some crazy stunt could put you at a distinct disadvantage. May cupid’s arrow stay true and here’s wishing you a happily ever after.
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