A complete guide to planning a proposal
Planning a proposal can be a lot to handle. There’s a lot to coordinate and to take into consideration when planning for the big question. It’s important to take a bit of time to sit down and really think about what’s important to you and your partner, and how you can make this proposal special and memorable.
From the team who executes Toronto’s most luxurious proposals, we’ve gathered the most important things to consider when planning a proposal! Make sure to bookmark this page to reference when it comes time to planning your proposal.
Here is our complete guide to planning a memorable and personalized proposal:
Step 1: Find a location or venue that speaks to you
The place that you propose will be in both of your memories forever. So it’s important to think about choosing a location that means something to your relationship, or a place you’d like to create a lasting memory at.
There is always so much to take into consideration when planning a proposal location. Will it be outdoors or indoors, near your home or at a destination, a new place or somewhere special to your relationship? When answering these questions, really think about what your partner would want. If they are not a fan of the outdoors, don’t try to plan out an elaborate proposal on the beach. Our advice is to think about what places you’ve already been to in your relationship that you’ve both loved, and try to either propose there, or find a location similar.
Another important thing to think about is the element of surprise. If you feel that your partner will start to catch on that a proposal may be on the way if you mention you’ll be visiting somewhere that you’ve already been to, our suggestion is to propose at a completely new location. This way, it’ll keep your partner guessing just a little bit longer.
Step 2: Choose a date for your proposal
This will be a very special date on the calendar for your relationship. Be sure to choose wisely. Choosing an already significant date to your relationship is always so romantic, like your anniversary or the day you met.
However, our biggest word of advice is to be flexible, be ready to move the date if necessary. If the element of surprise is important to you, and you feel your partner is catching on, don’t be afraid to postpone the proposal date by a few days. Equally as important, if your partner is coming into a stressful time with work or personal matters, postponing the proposal is really the best option. The last thing you want is to tie the memory of your proposal with a stressful time in your partner’s life. Just being open to a bit of movement with your proposal date is the best way to go.
Step 3: Plan out the decor and set-up
Planning out the decor of your proposal is something we take very seriously here at the Manor! We believe that this special occasion deserves some thought when it comes to the decor and set-up. When you book your proposal at The Ruby Manor, we handle the decor, set-up, as well as the planning and execution of your proposal. This makes the planning process super simple for you.
However, we always recommend personalizing your proposal decor. Think about what’s meaningful to your relationship, and find creative ways to incorporate those things into your proposal set-up. We love scattering photos of the couple within the room. We also think personal mementos are super sweet to include in the room as well. If you’ve saved tickets to events you’ve been to, have a scrapbook or photo album of your relationship, or want to give a hand-written note, they would be so amazing to include in your proposal set-up. You can sit down after the big moment to reminisce on all of the memories you’ve shared.
Step 4: Carefully plan out how to keep the proposal a surprise
This is a very big part of planning a proposal! It’s very important to make sure that you have a story that is believable for your partner, and also uncomplicated. The more details you include, the easier it will be to expose the surprise. We think saying that you’ll be going somewhere simple, like a private dining experience, is the best way to go. Alternatively, you could ask a friend to help you with the surprise, and ask them to take your partner out for the day, and to bring your partner to the proposal location. Tailor this to your partner though, if there’s an experience you both go to often, use that as your story.
It’s also equally important to share the story with everyone who will be involved with the proposal, especially the vendors. Here at The Ruby Manor, we carefully go over the proposal plan, including the story, with you during our consultation, and inform everyone involved in the proposal as well. This way, everyone is on the same page, and we can ensure everything runs smoothly.
Step 5: Sourcing photographers and videographers
We believe that a proposal is one of the most special moments within a couple’s relationship, and you’ll want to remember it for years and years. That’s why we love capturing the proposal through photos and videos. Being able to look back on your proposal to see how you both reacted, see you down on one knee, and revealing the ring, are such precious moments that you’ll definitely want to look back on. Strongly consider having a photographer in the moment capturing your proposal. You can let them know how comfortable you are with the camera, and if you’d like them to capture the moment from a distance, or if you don’t mind them moving near you to capture that perfect close-up angle of the moment. Everything within your proposal is fully customizable, it just takes a bit of thought to figure out what you’d like customized!
Step 6: Who do you want there to celebrate with you?
Making sure you know who you want to join you to celebrate after you’ve proposed is another important part of the planning process. Would you rather keep the occasion intimate with just the two of you? Perfect! If you’d like to invite some loved ones to celebrate with you afterwards, it will take a bit of planning. Be sure to decide who you’d like to invite, and let them know to arrive at the proposal site well before you and your partner do, and to hide so that they don’t give away the surprise.
Our recommendation is that you propose to your partner privately, to keep the moment intimate and special between you two, then have your family and friends come out to celebrate with you a few moments after you’ve popped the question.
At the end of the day, proposing to your partner is a special and intimate moment. Be sure to reflect on what’s most important to you as a couple, and keep it in mind throughout the planning process. And when in doubt, you can always call on The Ruby Manor team to flawlessly plan out and execute your dream proposal. If everything above sounds a bit overwhelming, you can call on us to handle absolutely everything, all you have to do is bring the ring!