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Definitely, Maybe

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In honor of the June 24 DVD release of Definitely, Maybe, Universal Studios Home Entertainment wants to hear your proposal stories. But before we get to the contest details, do you want to hear mine?

I remember my husband’s proposal to me, but what I remember more were the months before he officially popped the question.

Our first date was Halloween 1990. I was a junior and he was a senior at Texas A&M University. We didn’t go partying or anything like that–we saw the Tom Cruise classic film Days of Thunder at the dollar cinema. I came home and in spite of the simplicity of the date, I told the girls who lived in my residence hall, “I think that this is the guy I’m going to marry.”

Later that year, we went to his Ring Dance, the senior dance at Texas A&M which commemorates a student becoming a former student. My parents and his parents had both attended Ring Dance when they were dating. When we got the professional pictures back, Terry gave me one on which he had written, “You know what happens after the picture is taken under the ring,” foreshadowing another ring that I would one day wear.

We didn’t want to get married until after we graduated, and Terry had already signed on for 3 more semesters to get his Master’s degree, which meant he would graduate a semester after I did. He was also firmly opposed to a long engagement. He definitely didn’t want to be engaged for more than a year.

Ring Dance was in May; we had been dating for six months. We didn’t get engaged until the following February. To say that I was a little bit antsy would be an understatement. What made it worse was that it seemed like each week of my senior year, another of my friends got engaged. “But Terry and I are getting married, too. He just doesn’t want to be engaged for more than a year,” I thought to myself as my left ring finger remained bare.

Distance made it worse. He was doing an internship that spring semester in Houston, so we only saw each other when I was able to go home to Houston on the weekends. We actually fought about it most weekends. “Just ask me!” I even challenged him through tears on one weekend. Now I smile at the memory, but at the time, it wasn’t funny to me at all.

One weekend in February, he came to College Station instead of me going to Houston. Friday night, I fixed him dinner and apologized for being so irritating. Saturday morning he said that he wanted to go to Research Park, a place on campus where we had enjoyed picnicking and walking and talking while we were dating. He was wearing a Texas A&M hoodie sweatshirt and I was wearing sweats and no makeup, but as we crossed a particularly memorable bridge, he pulled a ring box out from the pocket of his hoodie and popped the question.

I didn’t say “Definitely, Maybe,” but according to his remembrance, I didn’t answer at all. I think that I grabbed the ring and stuck it on my finger as tears welled up in my eyes. “Is that a yes?” he wanted to confirm.

“Yes, yes, of course,” I answered.

What I didn’t know then was that he had purchased the ring in December. That horrible night when I was crying and challenging him to just ask me, already–the ring was actually waiting in a box, for the right moment. He wanted to propose on campus–where we had met and dated–because it was special. My story would be quite different if he had gone upstairs to his room and produced the ring for me in the heat of anger. I like this version better–dramatic emotional twenty-one-year old immaturity and all.

Eleven months later we got married. That was fifteen years ago, and we’re still going strong.

What about you? What’s your story? Post your own engagement story on your blog with a link back to this post and the Definitely, Maybe site (http://www.definitelymaybemovie.com/), letting your readers knowdefinitey-maybe-box-art.jpg that they can print a $5 off coupon and how they can enter the contest themselves.

Then leave a link to your direct post in the comments by either entering the direct link to your post in the blog name field on the comment form, or by adding it in HTML code in the comments, or just pasting the link in the comments. If you don’t have a blog, you can still enter by sharing your story as a comment.

On July 1 we’ll post the winner’s story here. I will select the story that grabs me, or if that’s too hard, I’ll use random.org to choose from the finalists.

The winner will receive a prize pack containing three romantic DVDs from Universal Studios: Definitely, Maybe; Love, Actually; and Notting Hill.

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124 Comments

  1. It’s going to be ending of mine day, however before finish I am reading this impressive piece of
    writing to increase my knowledge.

    Reply

  4. Your story is lovely! Ours was simple and sweet. My now husband (our 15th anniversary will be later this summer!) took me up high on a mountain in california, where we lived at the time. As we looked down on the lights and the beautiful landscape below us, he spoke of loving me, wanting to give me all of his love and more than I could ever see or imagine — more than all of the beauty I could see beneath us. After his sweet propposal we sat there as the sunset faded and enjoyed special time together!

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  6. Our complete story is in the link, but here’s the wrap-up…

    I met my husband a month before leaving for a couple years of missions work in Nicaragua. Our love blossomed quickly, and when we parted, we knew God wanted us to be together for a lifetime. But Brian knew he wanted to let me follow my heart’s desire to serve in Nicaragua, and so we said goodbye.

    A few months later, as our relationship was growing in frequent emails, online chats and phone calls, he flew to meet my family – by himself! – and ask my dad if he could marry me. He came to visit me at Christmas with a ring in his pocket. But before he proposed, I shared that I really wanted to meet his family, and I wanted to wait until we knew a date. So he took the ring home, and we waited. At Easter, I flew to meet his family. Of course, I knew he had the ring, and I knew he was dying to propose, but I also knew he had something planned. We drove to his alma mater, Clemson. We visited the beautiful botanical gardens, and I thought, “This is it! How romantic!” But he rushed me off as the sun was setting, saying he had something he wanted to show me. We drove to the edge of Lake Hartwell, where he’d been baptized in college. We sat in the setting sun, and he took out a guitar and played the song, “A Page is Turned” and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. It was so beautiful and sweet… an amazing start to our awesome life together!

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  7. My husband and I dated for a little over 10 months before he proposed. I am a nurse and had to attend a conference in Ft Lauderdale in the Fall of 2004. My husband happened to have some friends living Ft Lauderdale and I thought it would be perfect for him to come with me and stay with them while I stayed at the conference hotel. We could meet up after the sessions each day and tour Ft. Lauderdale, hang out with his friends, etc. He told me he wasn’t going to be able to make it because he had to work. Of course I was disappointed. He drove me to the airport the morning I was flying out (in his work clothes of course) and told me he would pick me up in a week when I was to return. The only suspicious thing about that day was a letter he placed in my carry-on. I was to read it on the plane. It basically talked about how he felt towards me and how he was hoping one day he would be able to ask me to marry him.
    I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, was greeted by his friends and spent the evening with them. I had difficulty reaching my husband but finally connected late that night. The following morning I attended my first session. I talked to my husband during a lunch break and asked him what he would be doing that Friday afternoon. He told me he had taken the day off and was at the beach and would be doing some shopping later in the day. I was really frustrated and disappointed since he had told me that the reason he couldn’t come with me was because he had to work. I let it slide and we talked for a few minutes and then hung up. After the conference sessions that day I was picked up by his friends and we were heading to watch the sunset on the beach and then off to a nice dinner. It’s hard to describe the beach but I’ll try. There is a street where cars can park and then tall shrubs/trees so that you are not able to see the beach from the street. It’s only when you go through one of the paths through the brush that you are able to see the beach. So we get out of the car and my friends tell me that they want me to go ahead because they want me to be the first to experience the Florida coast as the sun is setting (I’m from California where the sun sets over the ocean so apparently this was supposed to be a unique experience for me, the Cali girl). I walk ahead through one of the openings to the beach and literally right in front of me stands my husband in the midst of rose petals strewn on the sand, a long-stemmed rose in hand and the only thing I can say is “What are you doing here? I thought you were in California!” He then gets down on one knee and proposes and I am in shock and crying and we have an audience and it is beautiful and perfect and so surreal because he was supposed to be in California! Anyway, for the record my husband told me he never lied the entire time although he said it was quite difficult. He did tell me that whenever I asked him what he was doing, he told me…he just didn’t tell me WHERE he was doing it. Apparently he took a flight shortly after me and arrived in Ft. Lauderdale the evening I arrived, staying with his friends. It took a lot of craftiness on all of their parts to surprise me without lying or being dishonest. It was wonderful! I have the most amazing husband and now we have the most amazing little boy!

    Reply

  8. I actually did the proposing. We had been dating for 4 years and I told him we needed to make a decision.
    We have been married for 28 years this September.

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  9. He Proposed on my 26th birthday! May 19, 2008

    My birthday has always been somewhat hard for me. Ever since I was a child I hated my birthday. See, when I was a little girl my mother and father were in a terrible car crash in which the car caught on fire. My father managed to get out of the car but my poor mother was stuck under the stirring wheel and he couldn’t get her out. So we had to arrange for her funeral, but without thinking it through my family arranged to have the funeral on May 19, 1987… my fifth birthday. Big mistake! This single incident scarred me for life, at least that’s how I used to see it.

    I have had my share of problems, some of which I was responsible for, But God and his fantastic sense of humor have left me peacefully aware that All things, good and bad work together for my good. On May 19, 2008, my boyfriend, who I may not have known had I not moved with my aunt and went to his grandfather’s church, of many years proposed to me. It was the happiest I have ever been and now that day has been forever changed.

    He told me once, years ago, that he would make me love my birthday and he kept his promise. I love him so very much and can’t wait to become his Wife. He is my Angel.

    Reply

  12. My now husband proposed to me in front of our favorite restaurant after a full day of paintballing. He handed me the box and said, “whaddya think?” I was ecstatic and still am 5 years and 2 kids later.

    Reply

  15. He didn’t do anything special but when I turned 50 he went to the best jeweler in our town who custom designs rings. He had a 2 carat ring made with 4 diamonds along the side for the four sons we had and presented it as a total surprise to me with all our sons, wives and girlfriends in attendance. It was a shock as he is very tight with money and sticks to shopping at Home Depot.

    Reply

  16. After a nice dinner in San Francisco, my husband took me out to Twin Peaks and proposed while we were overlooking the city’s view.

    Reply

  19. My proposal is very simple, but it was sweet. Hubby and I had planned to spend the day in San Francisco shopping and just hanging out. So we drive into the city and he casually suggests we go walk across the Golden Gate Bridge which we had never done. So I agree. When we are about halfway across the bridge, we stop to look across the bay. I’m looking out at the ocean and when I look back at my then boyfriend, he’s standing there with a ring and asks me to marry him. It was so sweet. Of course I said yes. It was a wonderful day.

    Reply

  20. My husband got down on one knee and proposed the old fashioned way. It was very romantic and of course I said….YES!

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  21. My husband is a creative type, so I knew his proposal would be original. He arranged several different events for us throughout the day. The day ended with dinner at a fancy restaurant along the Mississippi river. Shortly after we were seated, the server presented us with a quiz supposedly written by the restaurant chef. I thought my husband made it, but then he faked me out saying it was stupid and not to do it. Of course, I then wanted to do it. Each page asked a question about the history of your relationship. The final page had a coded message that you decode using the numbers from your answers on each page. The message was “marry me”. He then got down on his knee and proposed. I love this great story to pass down and the best part is that I still have the booklet as a keepsake! 🙂

    Reply

  22. First off it seems so long ago…
    Anyway my hubby asked me to marry him with a sign and as everyone was driving by he was expressing his love to me. I do love him….

    Reply

  35. If i ever did get engaged i’d want it to be in a fortune cookie. That would be seriously sweet!

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  36. I don’t really have an engagement “story’. After being together for 7 years, we just finally decided that we should go ahead and get married. lol

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  53. What an amazing story Jennifer!!! And congratulations on 15 years.

    My story is a bit long… I’ll write a post about it one day…

    Reply

  59. I love reading about how people meet, date, engage, marry, and find commitment during the rough times to hold them together or reconcile.

    Okay here is your not so typical proposal. My hubby and I had already had the STANDARD romantic proposal, wedding, and lots of children. However, he did not come from a background of commitment. So when life got tougher with an autistic child having non-stop meltdowns, things really fell apart for us. After a long separation…I decided I would do the proposing this time for our reconciliation, since I had seen the changes in him I had prayed about. The exact things I prayed about for God to show me if he wanted us to reconcile, came to pass, and my hubby did not even know those were the things I required. Totally a God thing!

    My husband is a character fantasy fanatic and Lord of the Rings is one of his favorite trilogies. I was so grossed out by the Gollum character and his “Precious” murmurings. My husband immensely enjoys teasing me about it!

    I bought a Gollum figurine and another wedding band (the first one he chucked down the street when we separated). I had Gollum clinging the ring AKA “Precious”.

    Some time later, the opportunity presented itself. While eating dinner and watching Lord of the Rings together, my hubby started teasing me with “P-rrrr-e-ccccc-i-ous!” I giggled and pulled out a gift bag…he was in shock to find “Precious” the Ring being held by Gollum, and me kneeling with a bratty smile.

    My husband is now wearing Precious on his finger and our family is happily reconciled and blessed for a chance to choose love and commitment! Our son’s autism has improved a hundredfold. God is so good to us and we are not worthy! I am forever grateful for these sweet blessings!

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  60. He asked me what I thoguht of marriage Not to him or anything. Then the next date he asked me to marry him.

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  64. I love your story and great pictures! I love all of the movies listed in the pack and would love to have the set! Check out my story, it’s a fun one 😀

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  66. Mine was quite sad so i need these movies, he just called me up and proposed though the phone, pretty lame!

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  67. I love your story, my daughter just got engaged and they plan to be married next Aug 09, my husband and I have been married 28 years this September! We are still like kids and best friends!

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  69. I wish I had a wonderful story like everyone else but I do love my husband and I certainly have no bad feelings about how he asked me. It just wasn’t anything special. He just asked me out of the blue one day in my apartment and college and I said yes. It was short and sweet but we’re still married 23 years later!

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  74. We were at my now hubby’s apartment when he popped the question. I actually did say maybe; I had to think about it. Of course, I was playing hard to get. We’ll celebrate our 10 year anniversary this September.

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  76. I was in my last year of college, still dating my high school sweetheart. One of our favorite dates on Friday night was to sneak into the local resort lodge where he used to work, and act like tourists/guests so we could use the swimming pool and spa (A couple of the staff still knew him and looked the other way, usually, not always). One night after an evening of swimming, we went through the drive-in at Rax and got some sandwiches, then went back to my dorm room. We were sitting on the side of the bed eating when he got down on the floor and started rubbing my feet. I thought this was odd since we were in the middle of eating, but he then reached in his pocket and pulled out a ring. I of course said yes, and we were married a year and 6 months later, in the formal gardens of the same resort. That was 13 yrs ago and that resort is still our special place.

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  78. I married my wife twelve years to the day after our first date. After we dated about a year, she gave me an ultimatum to go steady. We broke up and when we got back together, I said I was wrong but she said not to ask her, and she meant it. Then I got a job offer in another state, and she had to decide whether she was coming. The shoe was on the other foot–and she married me. We have been happy almost four years married.

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  79. One lonesome trail in the northwoods, two horses, two riders, two hands clasped and one question asked.

    No more horses, no more riding, no more questions: still holding hands 45 years later.

    Not lonesome anymore!

    Reply

  80. Met my wife after I’d just graduated high school and she was starting her sophmore year back in 1973. Been together ever since and now married for nearly 29 years.

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  83. I had just graduated college with my Master’s degree. As a gift, he took me on a weekend trip to Galena, Illinois which is a cute little town full of charm. He booked us a room at a little bed and breakfast. On Saturday morning we went on a hot air balloon ride at sun rise. It was beautiful! The fog was still lingering and the air was crisp. I can still feel the chill of that morning! While we were floating around the sky (with 10 other people in the basket!) he shouted out…”Can I have everyone’s attention? My name is Nick and this is my girlfriend. I have something I need to ask her.” And then he squeezed down to one knee (he was pretty crammed for space) and ask me to marry him. Everyone in the balloon started clapping and some even joined me with a few tears! One sweet lady captured a photograph of the exact moment I said “yes” and kissed him. To this day, it is one of my favorite memories to look at. Two and half years later (I know, not quite 15 years!) we still love to remember that life changing moment. We still travel back to Galena and stay at the same bed and breakfast. This next trip we’ll be adding one more to the reservation as we have a daughter to introduce to everyone! 🙂

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  84. I wish my story was romantic but we were just washing dishes and he asked me very casually and I said yes. He is a good man and it was very much in his personality to do it that way.

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  87. I was proposed to on one knee in our tiny bedroom at the lowest point in our lives. We are still married 15 years later!

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  100. My husband, when he was my boyfriend, had been in a bad car accident while on business in Cairo and I traveled to Egypt to be with him during his 19 subsequent surgeries and rehabilitation. I was told there was a good chance he wouldn’t be able to walk correctly or move his foot again. It took two years for him to recover to even start physical therapy. It was an arduous time and he was in a lot of pain, but we pulled through. He still walks with a limp, but the most important thing is they were able to save his leg, which at first they thought they’d have to amputate. The first night we were able to go out after his recovery, with him on crutches and in pain, he took me to the Four Seasons along the Nile, where he had reserved a beautiful room and we had a great dinner. Afterwards we went onto our balcony to look at the Nile. I told him I had never seen anything so beautiful. He looked at me and told me, “I have.” He struggled to get down on one knee; I was so moved by this that I burst out in tears because it was the first time I had seen him move like this in years after his accident. I started telling him to get up because I was scared he would damage his leg more, when he pulled the ring out of his pocket and proposed to me. I was a blubbering mess, and I don’t even know how I got the word “yes” out, but I did and right then and there I told him I would marry him every day for the rest of my life, over and over. Its been three years now and I thank God every day that he wasn’t taken during his accident, and every day feels like a blessing.

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  101. My boyfriend (then) and I were out shopping he’d lost my highschool ring and said, “Let’s go see how much it would take to replace your ring” I said no as I was in my junior year of college and wasn’t worried about a high school ring. Anyway he talked me into it. The ring was 4 times more than I’d paid for my original ring and the sales woman said “is there anything else I can show you today?” I said “no” and he said “Yes, we’d like to see some engagement rings and wedding sets, please” I looked at him wide eyed and said “we would?” He squeezed my hand and said “yes we would………wouldn’t we?” and we bought our rings that day. I teased him that on our 25th anniversary he would have to actually ask me to marry him…..and he did. On August the 12th of this year we will celebrate our 30th anniversary 🙂

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  102. I was washing the counter top and my boyfriend suddenly said “I guess you want to get married don’t you”. I said “yes”. We have been married for thirty-five years. (Happily!)

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  106. I was working as a bartender one night and my future fiance came in. I did not know him at all at the time. Normally I do not date patrons for obvious reasons but he was so cute and charming. He held my hand and told me how beautiful I was. Every time I had to go away from him to serve a customer he would wait and motion me to hurry up so he could hold my hand longer. He was so cute and sincere I fell in love with him that very night. He has no children and I have 4 so I thought he might not be interested in me after finding that out but he said that he already knew who I was and that I had kids. We have been together now for one and a half years. He proposed to me at a fancy Italian restaurant. He poured our champain and when I took a drink of it, I saw a shiny ring at the bottom of my glass. He pulled the ring out of my glass and got down on one knee in front of everyone. He proposed to me right there. I said yes of course. I found out later he had already told the kids and asked for their blessing. Our date is next August to be married 🙂 I am so happy. That is my story. PS. You can enter this contest too by posting your story and you can also print off a 5 dollar coupon. IT’s fun 🙂

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  107. My husband took me to “our spot,” and as he started to propose, the cops pulled up and requested that we “move along.” 🙂

    He ended up proposing on the car ride home!

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  110. Great Story. We were engaged Christmas Eve, the ring was under a package of his old sweatshirt I disliked.

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  113. I love all engagement stories. I asked him in my case. I knew I had a good one and refused to let him get away. A quarter karat diamond earring for him and a incredible dinner by cooked by me and his reply “I thought you’de never ask”. 12 years later he’s not a good one… but the best one.

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  116. Please count me in! My husband asked me to marry him when I was 16 and he was 18. I thought it would be fun to be away from my parents so I said yes. In FL you can get married at that age. How did he ask me? He turned to me and said “How about the 28th?” (of December). I said “ok”. It might not sound romantic to you but we just celebrated 23 years and are happier than ever 🙂

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  117. My proposal story is not really unique but still cute. It was Christmas Eve and my husband had bought this huge teddy bear for me that was under the tree. He handed it to me and there was a little box tied to its paw. He asked me to marry him, I said yes, and 13 years later on the 4th of July, we did get married. We have been together for 19 years now.

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  118. What a beautiful story…and it’s so great to see that smiling photo of you two together fifteen years later!

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  119. What bridge? I was reading the story….just knowing that he asked you under the century tree. You fooled me! Awesome story.

    ~Mattie
    class of ’97

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  121. Snap, I love the pictures. You must have been a child bride, cause all these years later you look so young. I think I told my hubs “of course” too.

    monica

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  123. That’s cute story Jen. 🙂 It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling I have the day I first met my hubby till the day we are married.

    And I would like to watch the movie on DVD.

    Reply