Planning a proposal is both an exciting and difficult time. Not only will you feel anxious about the response when the moment arrives, but it’s also a challenge keeping it a secret – especially if your partner is observant.
However, experts in customised jewellery at Glamira have offered five tips to ensure your proposal runs smoothly and remains a surprise while also reducing nerves.
1. Be selective about who you tell
While you may feel tempted to share your plan to propose with those around you, such as a group of friends and your family, you face the risk of someone slipping up and ruining the surprise.
It’s considered both traditional and polite to speak to both yours and your partner’s parents before proposing, or perhaps a close family member if parents aren’t present. Not only will you have a support system this way, but you can also take someone along to choose the ring if you need some help. However, avoid telling more family members than necessary, as well as close friends; some may have loose lips and tell more people, or they may even find it difficult to act normal around your partner and raise suspicions. Plus, the more people that know means more pressure on your shoulders which can outweigh the excitement of the proposal.
2. Create reasonable explanations for your whereabouts
When you’re planning on ring shopping, or even heading out to organise your proposal, it’s important to create a believable excuse of why you’re heading out. Using something too vague such as heading to the shops isn’t the best alibi as you may spend more time browsing rings than you would usually spend shopping, so your partner may ask questions upon your return that you don’t have the answer to, especially if you come back empty-handed.
A reasonable explanation would be something that’s in your usual routine – anything different will send alarm bells ringing. Perhaps you usually head to your local pub for a drink, or even play golf on a weekend; but whatever excuse you use, avoid telling your partner that you’ll be with someone who doesn’t know about the proposal, as they may deny ever being with if questions are asked, which will only look suspicious.
3. Delete anything proposal-related on your devices
It’s incredibly easy for devices to spoil the surprise of the proposal, whether that be your messages, internet history, screenshots of ring choices in your camera roll, and even any website pages left open of jewellery sites that you’ve forgotten to close off. It’s vital to delete these traces, and if you need to keep screenshots of ring choices, move them to a hidden album in your phone and delete once you make a purchase.
Many people may also forget that cookies will collect information from the sites you visit, including products, so if you’ve been browsing the web for engagement rings there’s a chance this may creep up if your partner uses your devices. Fortunately, you can prevent this from happening by using private browsing mode or simply denying cookies when you enter a website.
4. Keep your partner on their toes
Start planning some romantic dates where they may expect a proposal, but don’t let this be the moment where you pop the question. A weekend away, a picnic on the beach at sunset, or an extravagant dinner date are all perfect occasions to get down on one knee, so having these planned will make your actual proposal seem like just another romantic date, thus keeping it a surprise.
Although, it’s important to note that too many of these special dates may cause your partner to feel led on, so be sure to spread only a few out over several weeks to make sure it’s not too much at once while also preventing them from feeling disappointed.
5. Don’t keep the ring at your own home
There are many places in your home that you may think would never be discovered by your partner, such as a hollowed-out book, an exercise bag, or even in a pair of your shoes. While these might be unsuspecting places, it may leave you feeling tense that your partner could find it, which could lead to you acting nervous and in turn making your partner sceptical. As well, these items can move around the house, so you take the risk of losing the ring.
Take the ring, the box, the receipt, and even the bag that the ring came in to your parents’ or close family member’s house if you have told them about the proposal. This way, you’re leaving everything with someone you trust while being reassured that your partner won’t find out your plan. On the other hand, you can rent a safe-deposit box at your bank and store the belongings there – you won’t need to worry about anything being misplaced or discovered by your partner.
A spokesperson from Glamira says: “Planning a proposal is undoubtedly an exciting time in your life as you picture the shock on your partner’s face when sharing that special moment. However, there’s potential for stress to outweigh the joy leading up to the proposal if you’re uncertain on how to keep it a surprise.
“A proposal needs a lot of careful consideration as one slip up can give the surprise away, whether you don’t give a realistic explanation for where you’ve been while ring shopping or you have told too many people about your plan – so it’s incredibly important to not overlook these factors. With these five tips, you can feel confident that the shock factor is delivered when you pop the question.”
These insights were provided by Glamira, experts in customised jewellery.
