Christmas and Beach Wedding Proposals

PROPOSAL IDEAS

Decembers are all beach holidays and Jingle Bells right? It is also one of the months where the most marriage proposals happen. Since mine happened in bed over a cup of coffee and a rusk (bless his lovely soul), I felt inspired to make sure that yours include a bit more romance and detail.

Enjoy this blog where we have heaps of proposal ideas for you who want to take that leap – and ladies, if you man is not reading this blog, print it out and stick it to the fridge door, or tag him and all his friend on Facebook. #no-pressure, right?

Given the time of year we love the idea of a Beach or Christmas proposal.

Bonus if you live in KZN or Cape Town, but if not a road trip is in perfect order.

Spell it out – with sand or without

Imagine the two of you strolling along the beach when suddenly you come across a secluded spot with a message written in the sand. This requires a bit for planning and you may have to enrol the services of a friend to do the actual writing and then guard it for a while. Scrabble and children’s building blocks work equally well. Swimming pools are magnificent for floating candles and lilos with floating messages.

Sunset Picnic

Nothing beats the romance of a sunset picnic. Play around with romantic décor options, a small bonfire if allowed, soft pillows and nibbles for two. With food and drinks an essential ingredient of any picnic, this opens up many wonderful ways of including a sparkling diamond in the mix.

Dainty macaroons and cupcakes work really well and are very photogenic. For the poor sods who think that the hamburger and pizza variety is acceptable, it’s not – just for the record. Although the ring at the bottom of a bubbly glass is now old school, it can still be beautiful –  rosé cotton candy bubbly cocktails will win over any heart.

Just the two of us

Set up a romantic table for two surrounded by candles at the end of a pier, a walkway, secluded garden or deck with views.  Take it up a notch by having a butler on hand assisting with pulling out chairs and serving food and wine. Soft romantic background music is a must. Make a play list of all her or his favourite chill-out songs.

About Labradoodles

If she or he is a pet-lover, enrol the services of your furry friend to propose. Have a special collar made up with the words ”Marry me” or simply tie the engagement ring with a velvet or silk ribbon to the dog or even kitty collar. This scenario makes for amazing engagement shoot photographs, by the way.

In the deep

If you are close to an aquarium, your wonderful day trip could include a proposal. Ask the friendly divers to hold up a waterproof “Marry me?” sign against the glass of the tank.  For the more adventurous there is shark cage diving, but we prefer the more friendly dolphins.

Some tips to keep in mind when choosing a beach for your proposal:

• Visit a few days before to make sure you have the perfect spot, with the perfect view. Check the tidal rosters and position of the sun.
• How busy is the beach? On the one hand you do want your privacy, on the other hand it is good to have people in the far distance for safety and security.
• Access – how easy it to get to the proposal spot. Try to keep it under 100 metres on easy/ hard sand. If you do a romantic picnic or table set up its great to have car access.
• Check out local smells – you don’t want the area around you smelling like an old fishing trawler. Best to stay away from areas where there is a lot of seaweed. The smell can be a bit hectic and it attracts a lot of flies.

Christmas Proposals

Christmas has a very uplifting energy to it and having friends and family around makes it a very special time to propose. Family have different traditions and the first choice to make is when to propose – Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Will this be a private or public proposal?

Putting up the Christmas tree together is a fun thing to do and opens up many sneaky opportunities for asking the question. If staying at a hotel, you can get some partners in crime to help with the plans below.

• Write your proposal on one of the Christmas Baubles and make sure that your love is tasked with putting all the baubles on the tree. Have a bottle of champagne on ice and a tray of snacks when the answer is yes…

• Once the Christmas tree is up you will have ample opportunity to tie the engagement ring with a red velvet ribbon to a branch. Challenge your other half to find the last minute décor you added to the tree.

• A box in a box in a box is a fun way to wrap a really small present. Test her humour and patience by having the engagement ring in the very last and smaller matchbox size gift. Make all the wrapping and unwrapping worth the while.

• Let your favourite hotel or restaurant prepare a lovely Christmas lunch. (Don’t you just love the part of no washing up afterwards?). Hide the Engagement Ring in a Christmas cracker and make a big hoo-ha about your partner catching the contents.

• Make this seasons switching on of the Christmas lights one with a difference. Spell out “Marry Me” and be ready to drop to one knee.

Still haven’t found your prefect proposal?

• If your bonus gets paid early, take out an advert in a newspaper. Have a relaxing morning and read the Entertainment section of the paper together…Insiders tip – the Community papers are way more affordable than the National papers or magazines.

• Write it out – with chalk on the side walk, writing it out in the sand, glow in the dark stickers on the ceiling. The options are endless.

• Have a custom puzzle made with a couple’s picture and the words “Marry me?” A perfect past-time on rainy days. The advantage of this is that’s it’s a very portable proposal and can travel anywhere until the opportunity is right.

• Are you a sporty couple – then rope in the help of a brand new pair of sneakers or a golf ball. Or go on a lovely hike and have the ring and the right words in place when you stop to catch your breath. Points to you if the stop is alongside a river, dam or scenic view. You would be the star of the show if a few snackies and a small bubbly pops out of the backpack like magic. If you are really, really a rock star, a small little white napkin would not go unappreciated.

Sometimes wedding proposal in bed with coffee and rusks are the real thing and come from a very real place, so I am not dissing it. But I am keeping a copy of all these ideas for our 10 year anniversary coming up soon.

Umthunzi Hotel, who was recently awarded “Best Coastal Wedding Venue” by Top Vendor, wishes our guests and future brides a wonderful Festive Season. For further inspiration, visit our Christmas and Beach wedding proposal ideas board.

She knows her Merlot from her Mojito, her hotel from her motel. From craft food to caviar, her innate curiosity about life and wanderlust provide inspiration for her blogs, articles and press releases about the travel, wedding and Spa industry. Over twenty years in the hotel marketing & PR arena with impressive hotel groups, from Dubai to Durbanville, has evolved into the pure enjoyment of freelance projects under the banner of About Branding.