There are no “rules” when it comes to anything about your wedding, regardless of what anyone tells you, that includes your marriage proposal. I always like to tell my couples when asked about recommendations or “what other people do,” to take any and all advice with a grain of salt. Your wedding is about celebrating the love you and your partner share, and the path of life you now promise to walk together. The same can be said for the proposal as well! While there are no rules, there are certain things you should consider based off your own personal situation.

Asking the Parents Permission

This is definitely more traditional but can be extremely important in starting off the engagement with all parties on the same page. Always make sure before you propose that you at least have an idea on the level of importance this is to not only your future partner, but their family as well. If the mom or dad has had an idea their whole life of the moment they are asked for their blessing, respecting this is will not only avoid any sour feelings but will give you major brownie points with the in-laws.

Make Sure You’re Both Ready for the Marriage Proposal

This should be known without being said, but please make sure that you both are ready for the next major stage in your lives. Marriage is a beautiful thing, and there is nothing like finding the person you want to spend the rest of your life with! That comes with some of the best times in your life, and some of the biggest challenges as well that you both need to be ready to work together on. Make sure you both have had the conversation about marriage prior to your proposal, and it couldn’t hurt to throw in your thoughts on starting a family in the future.

Get Down on One Knee

I’m all about being progressive, and not assuming every single tradition is the way it should be forever. Getting down on one knee is something that has stood the test of time and is still respectful, essential and a notion that signals we all know what’s coming next. This move stays at the top of our list. Plus if you have a photographer hiding to capture the moment this is THE photo for a long time to come.

Involve Family or Close Friends When Appropriate

I have to be very specific about this one. It’s a good idea to make sure that when you get down one knee and pop the question, family members aren’t directly in the room staring and awaiting an answer. This could put a lot of pressure on the person with an audience (That being said if this is something you discussed in tip #2 disregard). What you CAN do is secretly involve them by having a get together at a family member’s house after, or mini celebration at a restaurant, and so forth. Next to your actual wedding day, the proposal is a huge deal, and celebrating it with your closest family or friends will just keep those happy moments going!

Have a Pro Capture The Moment

Ok shameless plug, but I stand by it! If you want to have the proposal captured without having your future partner noticing, hire a professional. We are literally trained to be ready to snap photos from a far distance and provide quality results. Plus you won’t have to worry about us being spotted, because chances are they don’t know us anyway! If you do decide to have a friend or family member do it, just realize that there is some form of risk involved because no matter how much they tell you they can take a phone photo no problem, they might miss it! Their phones battery could die, or the phone could lock up, or worse they are spotted and not ready to explain themselves. Your future partner will be impressed to know you went the extra mile to get professional photos done for such a special moment.

Be Yourself

At the expense of sounding too corny or philosophical, the love of your life will want to marry you because of who you are. Whether that’s the way you make them laugh all the time or make them feel like the most appreciated person on this planet earth, you should show them in uniquely creative ways. Your proposal does not have to be a cookie-cutter version of how you think it should be done. Include anything special that means something to the two of you, and you’ll knock the proposal out of the park.