Some girls don’t care about proposals. But others want the event to be really special. A proposal, after all, is about showing love and appreciation to the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. So, the effort put into planning it reflects how much that person means to you.
And what does a proposal at a McDonald’s reflect? Because it’s exactly what this poor girl got from her boyfriend. The guy unironically got down on one knee mid-burger and popped the question. And with the wrong kind of jewelry! Furious and hurt, the woman decided to ask others whether she was being unreasonable.
Hardly anyone would consider McDonald’s a romantic place
Image credits: Mike Mozart/ Flickr (not the actual photo)
But one man decided to propose to his girlfriend just as they were munching on some burgers and fries
Image credits: Gift Habeshaw/Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Julia Taubitz/ Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Unusual-Proof-9797
Ignoring a partner’s wishes for a proposal can be disrespectful
Image credits: Toa Heftiba/Pexels (not the actual photo)
It might seem trivial, but a meaningful proposal matters. Especially when you and your partner have discussed it numerous times. Experts say that talking about it is one of the first steps. Under no circumstances should a partner spring a proposal upon their significant other.
Both individuals should be on the same page about wanting a marriage and having plans for the future. “Be sure the two of you have communicated at length about values, ideas of ‘marriage,’ child planning, finances, and expectations,” licensed relationship therapist Alysha Jeney told Brides. “A specific conversation about proposal and wedding boundaries should be had upfront,” she said.
The girlfriend in this story also said that she had discussed with her boyfriend the way she would have liked the proposal to go. One of the conditions was for her parents and her sister to be there. Another condition – a romantic setting.
Jeney also told Brides that ignoring a partner’s wishes communicates disrespect. This applies to whether the person wants a public or an intimate proposal, whether wardrobe is important to them, and so on. Romance isn’t about grandiose gestures to publicize your love for one another,” Jeney said. “It’s about thoughtfulness.”
That’s why proposing in public places can backfire. Jodi R.R. Smith, owner of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting, told Wedding Wire that some people opt for a public proposal if they’re not sure their partner will say “yes.”
“Deciding to be married is not a magical solution to strengthen a weak romance,” she noted.
Sometimes, it’s not about the “how” but the “why”
Image credits: Amy Humphries/ Pexels (not the actual photo)
Just as with weddings, many people (especially women) have presupposed ideas about how their “perfect day” should look. But is the way your partner proposes to you really the most important thing in the relationship equation?
Some say that the stereotypical proposal doesn’t reflect the relationship dynamics between a man and a woman in the year of our lord 2024. Professor of marriage and family history at Evergreen State College, Stephanie Coontz, told the Atlantic that the tradition of the proposal is very resistant to change.
In most heterosexual couples, the woman expects a man to propose. By surprise, preferably. The whole ordeal can sometimes veer on the edge of the ridiculous: he’s supposed to know how she wants it to go, but he can’t tell her exactly how and when it will happen.
“[The proposal is] still so wrapped up in the old tradition of males taking initiative and females being delighted that it’s very painful for everyone if it doesn’t go the way we expect—for the women who has to say no, for the man who feels humiliated, and for any public audience,” Coontz observed.
In the end, the proposal, above all else, should be meaningful to both partners, should it not? “However your other half (or you!) proposed, I hope you never forget that the ‘why’ is a million times more important than the ‘how,'” the founder of The Rock N Roll Bride magazine, Kat Williams, writes. “Whether you were dancing around your living room in your underwear, or standing atop the Eiffel Tower at sunset, that magical moment is YOURS.”
Commenters had some heartfelt and sincere advice for the girlfriend
People on another social media platform had similar reactions
