Marriage Proposals

[ImaRavenclaw]

I'm not sure if this is a good place to put it, but I'm constantly stuck when it comes to my characters proposing to each other. Whether they're straight or gay, I struggle with originality, and I seem to have a proposal in most of my fan fictions. One of my characters always gets down on one knee, and asks "___, will you marry me?"

 

Does anyone have any ideas on how to propose differently then just the down on one knee will you marry me? scenario? I appreciate any help!

 

[TidalDragon]

I wrote a marriage proposal in my one-shot, Starving Artists, that was Dean Thomas taking Rionach O'Neal (the originally unnamed, then later named Gryffindor girl from the movies) up to one of their favorite spots for a picnic. He reproduces a napkin he had sketched her face on at a party when they met (again) after school, they watch the sunrise, and after leaning into him and closing her eyes, when she opens them, he's created a picture of them together with magic. He whispers the proposal and the story ends on the yes. So nobody's on one knee. He planned it, but the execution is intended to be a bit more organic.

 

I agree though that it's a challenge to write proposals. Whenever I've considered them I've wanted them to be unique and interesting rather than cliche or too traditional. Though if the characters suit it, I think a traditional proposal is perfectly fine.

[ImaRavenclaw]

Thanks for your help Kevin! I'll be sure to keep some of this in mind the next time I write a proposal.

[toomanycurls]

When I'm writing marriage proposals I try to think romance through the lens of the character I'm writing. When I wrote about Remus proposing to Tonks he had a nice dinner and a record playing a song they danced to. He proposed while they were looking at the stars and he had a whole romantic speech. I don't think he got on one knee (I wrote this a few years ago).

 

I wrote a brief Jily proposal scene and it was after they escaped Voldemort James popped the question. It was kind of a Carpe Diem thing.

[Jo Raskoph]

Marriage Proposals <3 great topic!  ;D 8)

 

I might be a bit baised, but I adore the "communicative proposal" idea. I like to think that a couple who have a good chance at staying together through a long marriage will not be overly surprised by a proposal. Don't get me wrong – I'm not saying no surprising romantic gestures, just that a couple who might get engaged and are good at communicating will probably know where they're heading in their relationship together.

 

An example is a proposal we had in the family recently, it involved two people who had been living together for 25 years and have adult children and young grandchildren. They knew each other inside out so when after 25 years together one tells the other "You know, we could get married" the other replies "yes! in may", with the happiest smile.

This, to me is probably the most romantic thing in the word – two people who really know each other and love each other exactly the way they are.

 

Another one I know of was a rather younger couple where he had been carrying the ring around with him and on a holiday together surprised them both with the question. I was told it happened something like this. They were going for a walk together, it was a beautiful sunset and impressive scenery and he took it all in, excitedly, and then said: "Okay, it can't be more beautiful than this" – then proceeded to propose spontaneously.

 

Another one (I know too many people getting married): They were in a social setting and had been talking about getting married in general terms before. One asks the other, as if speaking hypothetically "If I asked you to marry me now, would you say yes?", then when the other said yes (hypothetically) they proceeded by getting everyone's attention, getting down on one knee and then asking the question publically.

 

Reading what I just wrote I think what I mean is probably that I agree with what Rose said: "romance through the lens of the character" <3

[ichigopan]

I have a tendency of writing marriage proposals in a more humorous way with a small classic "down on one knee" element. That was the approach when I wrote "I Want It All."

 

It also depends on the dynamic the couple has with one another, be it 100% romance or banter like an old couple.

 

Another idea is rather than focusing on the actual proposal, you can even write about the events leading up it, like how the character is feeling, what is he/she thinking, any shenanigans out and about that can prove interesting/disastrous?

[Slytherinchica08]

There are a lot of little ways that you can change a proposal from being the traditional approach into something a little more original. The biggest thing to keep in mind no matter which way you go is, like the others have said above me, to take into consideration the characters and their personalities.

 

Some people, like Pansy, may want something more public and announced. Very traditional but large scale. Then you have someone more like Hermione or Harry, who would probably rather have something a little more secluded and privet, a moment meant more for the couple than for a show. So if I were to write a marriage between Ron and Hermione, it would be important for me to remember that, Ron, who has always felt overshadowed by everyone he knows, would probably much prefer a very public proposal. So there might be some kind of clashing between Ron and Hermione because their styles are different. Ron may try to make a spectacle of things and Hermione may end up embarrassed by his efforts. That's not to say that she would automatically say no to him, just that their styles clash and the proposal that Hermione always dreamed of may not be addressed in Ron's typical style of things.

 

For specific characters, certain things make "sense" so to speak to add some originality to the proposal. Maybe someone proposing to Hermione would take her to the largest library or use books as some kind of message. Maybe she would even have to solve some kind of puzzle. For a quidditch fanatic, proposing at/after a quidditch game would be very fitting. For someone set in more traditional ways, a resturant would be a good choice location. Someone very active in outdoors maybe a vacation is planned to do some hiking trips. So I guess my advice is to think of things that the character really loves and different ways to incorporate that into the proposal.

 

Besides locations there is actually asking the question. Maybe someone like Colin would propose to another while taking pictures or having someone else take pictures. A pairing may have a specific word or phrase that they use (for this I think of The Fault in Our Stars) or "Always" or "I can fix that" (Holes). It doesn't necessarily have to be the words "_____, will you marry me?" Yes that is the traditional way and probably one of the most clear ways but you can always get around that.

 

Also we don't really know anything about proposals in the Wizarding world, maybe our version of a traditional proposal, is not considered their version of traditional. Maybe they have certain hoops that they have to go through in order to propose. A spell may be involved, a certain location, etc.

 

Basically, the sky is the limit. I hope this helped.