Top Secret--Proposal Thread! NYC LOCALS - HELP!!

** ** ** ** Please skip down to post #43 for the latest update! ** ** ** **


Last week marked a major milestone in my life. I picked up an engagement ring that I plan on giving to my girlfriend sometime in the next few months. I don't have a date set in stone, but I'd prefer to do it when she'd LEAST expect it! (Not Valentine's Day, New Year's, or any other major holiday etc...)

But I need help planning the perfect proposal! Here's what I'm envisioning:

I'm thinking about planning a get-away weekend for both of us, at Daytona Beach. I'd get a room in the Adam's Mark Hotel for two nights... It would be a very high up, ocean front room... I would take her out for a very romantic dinner on Saturday night...

*meanwhile* I'd have a few of my buddies go out to the beach right in front of our hotel room, and take LED lights and spell out "Will You Marry Me?" in the sand... I'm talking HUNDREDS of lights!!

Then, after dinner... I'd come back to the hotel room, and suggest that we go out to the balcony for some fresh air. She'd see the huge illuminated message in the sand (it would be dark out by now) and then I'd be on one knee with the ring in hand!

ALSO, I was considering booking a SECOND room for that night, somewhere on the opposite side of the hotel... where ALL of our friends, and family would be waiting, so we could celebrate afterwards!!

Any tips / suggestions as to how I could make this go as smoothly as possible?

I also need guidance as to what type of LEDs to use in the sand... Something cheap because I'll probably have to purchase a huge quantity of them. (No McLux III-PDs... ) Something Homemade might even work too, as long as it's not *overly* complicated! (Thinking: blocks of wood with a ton of 5mm LEDs attached... powered by Lantern Batteries?)

*****Please share stories about your proposal's, and how they went down!!*****

I'm still not 100% decided on this beach idea... but luckily, I have a few months to work with! I've read that 80% of females polled, said that their engagement proposals were NOT as romantic as they wished for, and I don't want to disappoint!


-Allen

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

Congratulations!

I would suggest using strings of LED Christmas lights to spell out your message. Because they draw so little power you could use a small inverter powered by lawn and tractor battery or a regular auto battery. You would also be able to use them for something after their initial purpose.

Peter

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

Although not technically flashlights, you might consider using Cyalume nightsticks.

Sounds like a good plan overall.

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

Have to leave the tech stuff to the others, but I advise you to find a proficient photographer experienced in low light situations to record this for the two of you, as well as us here at CPF. This should be quite a spectacle, and is a must see.

Congrats!!!

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

Litfuse: That's really a great idea! Thank you!!

Ras_Thavas: Are Cyalume nightsticks the same as glowsticks? (the things you have to crack... then they light up?) Do you know about how much they cost per unit?

nekomane: Hmm... that's also a great idea! But I'm trying to think where the photographer would be positioned at... :thinking: If they were down on the beach, they'd have to have a great zoom lens, but then the darkness would be a REAL issue. Unless our balcony was well-lit. :shrug:

-Allen

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

Allen, you may be interested in this thread :

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=97072

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

Congratulations. Your plan sounds like a good idea. I second the suggestion of cyalume lightsticks. That will give a good effect and also be the most affordable/convenient method.

You are correct that doing this in a romantic way will be important to her. Women eat that stuff up and she will be retelling that story many times for the rest of her life. I have come to learn that women judge everything you do by the reaction she gets from her friends when she tells them about it later. If she gets a lot of ooohs and aaahs on Monday morning at the office water cooler, you have hit a home run. The more details she has to tell about, the better the story.

One other thing to consider doing is having your buddies get the hotel room ready for your return from dinner by being lit up with dozens of candles and maybe some flower petals sprinkled around. Bottle of champaign on ice. Music playing. This may give it away a little before she sees the beach, but it will also increase the impact and the story value. It wouldn't hurt to have a bowl of fresh strawberries and whipped cream on hand either.

Good luck and have fun. Remember, you only get married 3 or 4 times in life.

And one final tip for the wedding planning. The entire wedding industry is built around the concept of draining as much cash from you as possible. There is one website aimed at helping you plan a nice wedding without breaking the bank. www.indiebride.com

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

was_jlh said:

Allen, you may be interested in this thread :

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=97072

Click to expand...

Wow, thanks was_jlh! I had no idea there was another engagement thread... Congrats PSM! I can't wait to hear how it all turned out for you!

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

Lurker said:

Congratulations. Your plan sounds like a good idea. I second the suggestion of cyalume lightsticks. That will give a good effect and also be the most affordable/convenient method.

You are correct that doing this in a romantic way will be important to her. Women eat that stuff up and she will be retelling that story many times for the rest of her life. I have come to learn that women judge everything you do by the reaction she gets from her friends when she tells them about it later. If she gets a lot of ooohs and aaahs on Monday morning at the office water cooler, you have hit a home run. The more details she has to tell about, the better the story.

One other thing to consider doing is having your buddies get the hotel room ready for your return from dinner by being lit up with dozens of candles and maybe some flower petals sprinkled around. Bottle of champaign on ice. Music playing. This may give it away a little before she sees the beach, but it will also increase the impact and the story value. It wouldn't hurt to have a bowl of fresh strawberries and whipped cream on hand either.

Good luck and have fun. Remember, you only get married 3 or 4 times in life.

And one final tip for the wedding planning. The entire wedding industry is built around the concept of draining as much cash from you as possible. There is one website aimed at helping you plan a nice wedding without breaking the bank. www.indiebride.com

Click to expand...

3 or 4 times! haha, this girl is the one and only one for me! Thanks for your tips... I especially like the champaign and flower petals and music. Nice touch!!

About the lightsticks... I would need to find a good place to buy a LARGE quantity, for a reasonable price. Any suggestions?

I was seriously considering using white-paper bags, filled with sand... and putting candles in them to spell out the words! But, if it happened to be raining then that plan would be shot... Also, the beach patrol might throw a fit as well. :shrug:

-Allen

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

KingSmono said:

But I'm trying to think where the photographer would be positioned at... :thinking:

Click to expand...

Awwww forget about the lights, I just want to see how you and the misuss react :laughing:
Good luck mate!

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

MangledQUOTE=Lurker]And one final tip for the wedding planning. The entire wedding industry is built around the concept of draining as much cash from you as possible. There is one website aimed at helping you plan a nice wedding without breaking the bank. www.indiebride.com End MangledQUOTE]

Boy you aren't kidding about that. We had a caterer who was going to charge us $400 for a "cascade of fruit". When we pressed her she admitted it was a stacked pile of fruit (estimated cost of fruit $60 with the rest being for the labor of piling it up?). We found a different caterer and laughed about the "pile of fruit" for the rest of our wedding!

Anyway back to the origional topic. I'd also suggest going with the LED christmas lights and an inverter.
-Battery pack (like the ones for jump starting a car) $40-110
-Inverter (make sure it's big enough) $30-50
-Strings of lights $50 total?
-A buddy to flip the switch - Priceless (hehe, couldn't resist).

Stand up on your balcony and blink a flashlight down to the beach so your buddy knows when to hit the switch and VOILA!

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

zespectre said:

Anyway back to the origional topic. I'd also suggest going with the LED christmas lights and an inverter.
-Battery pack (like the ones for jump starting a car) $40-110
-Inverter (make sure it's big enough) $30-50
-Strings of lights $50 total?
-A buddy to flip the switch - Priceless (hehe, couldn't resist).

Stand up on your balcony and blink a flashlight down to the beach so your buddy knows when to hit the switch and VOILA!

Click to expand...

Oh man... that gave me goose-bumps, just envisioning it in my head!

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

I remember the feeling of having that engagement ring on me, it is hard to keep it! I wanted to give it to her right away! Good luck!

For the LEDs in the sand, what about abunch of those cheap coincell/keychain LEDs? If you get the kind that have a constant on feature, it should work.

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

Trust me... from the moment I picked up the ring, I've wanted to give it to her. And every time I talk to her, I want to tell her about it!!! It takes some will-power and determination, to stick to the plan.

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

My proposal began with a plastic stick showing two pink lines j/k

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

Allen,

Here is another idea:

Get a 4x8 sheet of ply wood or sheet-rock or larger and paint it with "Glow in the dark" paint. Have your buddies charge it up right before you go out to the balcony. This should give a good bang for the buck.

Congratulations and Good Luck

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

zespectre said:

Anyway back to the origional topic. I'd also suggest going with the LED christmas lights and an inverter.
-Battery pack (like the ones for jump starting a car) $40-110
-Inverter (make sure it's big enough) $30-50
-Strings of lights $50 total?
-A buddy to flip the switch - Priceless (hehe, couldn't resist).

Stand up on your balcony and blink a flashlight down to the beach so your buddy knows when to hit the switch and VOILA!

Click to expand...

Yes, that's a great idea. I like that.

You can do without the battery and inverter if you just run some long extension cords to an outlet on the hotel. Also make sure your buddy has a cell phone on him as a backup to the flashlight signal. He may get confused if someone else is flashing a light from a different balcony. Or if he is not looking up at the proper moment. And be aware that anyone strolling along the beach may trip up in the light strings and move them out of position or damage/unplug them. Your buddies need to control that.

One key element to this plan is having the correct room. It has to overlook the beach and has to be very high up. Make sure you reserve this very early and think about what you are going to do if you show up and they tell you that your room reservation has been changed to something with no beach view.

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

If you decide to go with the strings of Christmas lights, you need to buy them quickly. They will be hard to find after a few more days. Might be on sale now, though. Although I guess everyone has them in their attic, so you could borrow what you need as well.

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

Yes, the lightsticks are the crack and shake kind. You can probably find them for about a dollar each for the 6" ones in the standard green. They come in a bunch of other colors now. Omni Glow is one company that makes a good assortment of colors.

Re: Top Secret -- Proposal Thread! -- Top Secret

Allen,

Great idea for the beach thing.
The strand of lights running off a car bat etc would be nice, and you could reuse the lights.

But the chemical glow sticks would be very easy also.
Here is the site I order from all the time,

www.illuminationz.com

Good thing about the glow sticks is you dont have to time it just right,
they will easily last 8 hours, so you dont have to worry about batts dieing.

~John