How important is proposing, engagement ring, etc, to you?

[j.adore]

I grew up with fairy tales and romantic movies so the proposal and engagement ring used to be dreamy and important for me.
In time, I met THE ONE  and love made me grow out of that princess-y complex. Through our relationship, I realized that, although I deserve the best, just because he doesn't do it like the movies, doesn't mean he's not giving his best.

Less than one year into the relationship, we chanced upon the topic of proposal and he "joked" around asking "Will you marry me?" except he removed the ring I was currently wearing and put it back to be imagined as the engagement ring  Laughtime galore but I think that was it haha!
Some time later, after attending a lot of weddings and being asked by everyone about plans for the future, we would talk about what it would be like if it was us since we're comfortable talking about everything. So from there, it's understood that we envision our lives together.
Last year, someone abroad will have vow renewal and asked for a favor to scout the metro for wedding ring designs. We inserted this "chore" in between dates and I looked at all types of jewelry and tried on sets etc. This is where I found the engagement ring that I want and he bought it for me and that was it 

No element of surprise: We already know we'd get married. It's just a matter of when.
No proposal: Not much effort from his end but comparing with his effort on everything he has done for me, for my friends, and for my family since we've been together, I'd say his effort is more than enough 
With engagement ring: I personally chose the design (super unique since I don't like the common ones) and we agreed it's better to have something I want than for him to make a mistake on the design.

This may be far from a magical story but I am very very happy 

[17arci]

Proposing, yes. Engagement ring, not so much. Even if he gave me a string, or a plastic ring, I would still wear it

[chicgurl]

he proposed!!! tee hee! we're engaged na tee hee! sooo happy  

[iceheaven31]

i am just glad to say that my "inggiterang froglet" days are now over.

upon arriving here in KL from my one week vacation in Pinas, turns out, fiance has purchased the engagement ring we saw online na akala ko hindi niya binili kaya pinag-awayan pa namin. it's so beautiful and i really love it. we finally had this proposal story na i never knew i would have. when he showed me the ring sa Arrival area, napa-OMG na lang ako dahil di ako makapaniwala sa nakita ko. di lang siya lumuhod and sinusuot na niya yung singsing habang nagtatanong siya, and sa sobrang overwhelmed all i said was "hahaha, yes!". anyway, the wait (for the ring ) has been worth it.

[whatseatingven]

Proposal and engagement ring are both very important to me. My fiance was well aware of it back when we were still bf/gf. Not because I love diamonds (cos I don't) or I need to have something to show to people as proof that I'm engaged, but because this, for me, is one significant sign that your bf (1) loves you enough to spare some bucks for this easily considered trivial thing, (2) is responsible enough to handle serious money matters like these, (3) doesn't want to waste any more time for dating, instead he wants to start a life of forever with you. My fiance got me not the most expensive ring at all but something that he saved up for for at least 3 months. He didn't shop for himself nor went out with friends for extravagant lunch just to save up for it. If that's not sincere, I don't know what is.

[gemzki28]

it is important for me. like a wedding, minsan lang yan mangyari sa buhay natin as girls. sa nagcocomment na d bale ng wala as long as d mambababae, or yung ssabhin n bongga nga engagement, maghihiwalay naman, medyo nakakadepress mga ganung comments. i believe you can have it all naman eh, your dream proposal, your dream wedding and happy married life. kaya nga kayo ikakasal dahil mahal nyo isat isa eh. mybf and i have been together for 4 yrs already, and as early as now, aware sya sa lahat ng gusto ko and he really wants to make me happy. to those who say na may mapaglalaanan pang iba, well, it is ur fiancee's prerogative to give you one or not. besides, magkano lang naman ang ring, kahit simple as long as meron, id be happy.  sa mga sisses natin na ok kahit wala, im happy for them especially [textspeak!] wala ng mga bitter ocampo comments. 

[i_am_zayda]

now i have the prince charming... but no "will you marry me" lines, nor any sparkling stone... just a casual "start planning a wedding.."

Same thing happened to me... well, some girls really wanted to have the fairy tale, the classic "will you marry me" thing, tapos sabayan pa ng makikita natin na kung ano-anong wedding proposals sa internet (sabi pa nga nila, next level na din ang hahanapin ng mga girls dahil sa ginawa ni Zoren kay Carmina).

For me, yes, it would have been better if the kneeling down on one knee, "will you marry me", with the surprise ring (although i have the ring the thing is I am just not surprised anymore since we are already starting to make wedding preps prior) But the most important thing is you will start a happy ever after with him...

Tip: if you really wanted to have a ring, tell him (i did that with my H2B) how you are going to tell him is another story. Me, i jokingly said (kasi before Christmas yun) "I will give you a clue kung ano gusto kong Christmas gift mo sa akin, something round, something shiny" and alam na nya yun...

Good luck!

[honeybee830]

For me it's important..Kasi ilang beses na syang nagpropose saken, "will you marry me?" sinabi nya then tumawa lang ako kasi feeling ko di pa totoo un..Then inulit pa un [textspeak!] ring na ginamit nya [textspeak!] college ring sinuot nya saken tpos sabi nya will you marry me..di ko din sineryoso..Pagsinasabi nya na magpapakasal na kami, sasabihin ko di pa nga tayo engaged eh..Siguro naisip nya un na di ako naniniwala kapag di nya ginawa yung proposal talaga. Kaya nung 7th year anniv namin last November 8, 2012 sa Puerto Galera, he proposed to me with the e-ring na.. Ang ganda nga ng ring pero di ko inexpect na bibili sya [textspeak!] nun kasi alam ko mahal pero sinave nya un kya super ttreasure ko..Super happy at super surprised ako kasi walang kahit anong trace na may surprise sya..Nakaktuwa lang kasi nung nag-attend ako ng Christmas party nila sa Siemens nagcongrats saken [textspeak!] mga officemates nya at mga boss nya, sabi nila ang tagal daw pinaghandaan ni h2b yung proposal saken..Natouch ako kasi nag-effort pala talaga sya to make me happy..Masarap din naman yung feeling na [textspeak!] taong mahal mo kahit hindi sanay sa ganun prng nakakahiya minsan kya nilng gawin for you..Kaya isa to sa tinetreasure ko aside sa darating naming wedding..

[babychellee]

Yung engagement ring ko parang for formality na lang din like nung kay babychellee. Si h2b kasi hindi siya tulad nung ibang guys na mahilig mangsurprise, mag plan ng date and sweet in a sense na dadalhan ako ng bulaklak kapag valentine's or kahit normal day lang. Umabot pa nga muna kami ng more than 2 years bago nya ako binilhan ng bouquet or roses tapos ngayon birthdays ko lang siya nagbibigay ng bulaklak.

He's just a man of few words and actions pero kahit na ganun siya okay lang sa akin, hindi man natupad yung dream proposal ko ang mahalaga nagpropose pa rin siya for formality. 

Sabay kaming nagcheck ng ring and ako na rin pumili ng ring na pasok sa 15k budget nya tsaka alam ko na rin yung day kung kailan nya ibibigay yung ring hehe. 2 weeks ago pa lang kaming formally engaged sa mata ng parents and relatives namin pero matagal na kaming may plan to get married, nauna pa nga yung pagbili namin ng house kesa sa ring 

pareho tayo sis, bf ko din hindi sya yung tipong sweet na sobra pero wala ako mareklamo kasi grabe din yung pagmamahal sakin, he really makes me feel special in a lot of other ways. sobrang proven na yun. ako naman tuwing valentines lang consistently nabibigyan ng flowers.  hehe ako din pumili ng engagement ring ko. ang budget nya nga lang is 10k lang but i did not complain at all! 10k is still 10k..di un napupulot and my fiance's salary is really not that big talaga. when we bought it, nako super kilig parin ako. hehe. i really loved it kasi. really..we should be thankful. i must agree na dun sa mga girls here na di nabigyan ng ring during the proposal, you can just ask your fiance about it in a nice way or say..in a palambing way minsan kasi meron talagang mga guys who are extremely clueless. hindi lahat ng guys pare parehong sweet and talagang maeffort sa pag propose.

[shegie_285]

Proposal is important to me because even though we have talked about getting married it didn't feel real until there was the proposal! After the proposal, in 11 months we got married. We have lived together for 5 years when he proposed.  Ang tagal kong nag-antay! My hubby knew i wanted to get married sinasabi ko sa kanya. I didn't need an extravagant or tell-the-world proposal, my hubby is not that type, basta gusto ko lang sya mag-initiate.

Ring is also important.  I never had a dream wedding but i have my dream engagement ring.  For my wedding, I think I was very good with the budget (strict si hubby!) and didn't really have things that were not necessary (i.e. no SDE or prenup even though I have always wanted those!) and all our expenses were of reasonable cost.  My hubby kept reminding me that I told him during one of our ring shopping days that I don't mind a simple wedding as long as I get a nice ring.  (He asked me to go ring shopping before the proposal because he wanted to see what i want -  again even if we shopped for rings, there was no plan whatsover for the wedding until the proposal kaya importante sa akin). It's more than a year now since the proposal, I  still admire my ring as if I only got it yesterday.  I have thanked my hubby a lot of times for it.

[i_am_zayda]

after reading lots of replies regarding the topic, i just realized madami talagang lalake na walang ka-sweetness sweetness sa katawan. hindi marunong mag-plan ng surprise (at hindi rin lang pala ako yung nagkaroon ng e-ring for formality sake lang dahil nauna na ang wedding preps)

depende na nga lang din sa girl if she understands kung ano talaga yung bf/fiance nila na tatanggapin na ganun talaga sila. hindi marunong mag-suprise, hindi na-meet yung dream proposal ng girls, pero as long as they are true, hindi babaero (at lalo ng hindi nan-lalake), proposal and extravagant e-rings are not that important. Bonus na nga lang siguro sa ibang babae na meron silang happy relationship w/ sweet bfs...

[honeybee830]

after reading lots of replies regarding the topic, i just realized madami talagang lalake na walang ka-sweetness sweetness sa katawan. hindi marunong mag-plan ng surprise (at hindi rin lang pala ako yung nagkaroon ng e-ring for formality sake lang dahil nauna na ang wedding preps)

depende na nga lang din sa girl if she understands kung ano talaga yung bf/fiance nila na tatanggapin na ganun talaga sila. hindi marunong mag-suprise, hindi na-meet yung dream proposal ng girls, pero as long as they are true, hindi babaero (at lalo ng hindi nan-lalake), proposal and extravagant e-rings are not that important. Bonus na nga lang siguro sa ibang babae na meron silang happy relationship w/ sweet bfs...

Super correct bonus na nga lang yun.. Ang inaabangan ko na ngayon panu kaya sila maging husband, sana hindi magbago

Nakakatuwa magbasa dito sa GTalk kasi minsan akala mo kaw lang nakakaexperience pero normal naman pala [textspeak!] ibang naeexperience mo. Nakakahelp ma-lessen ang mga inis sa mga bagay bagay..

[akireyhoj]

napaisip lang ako..
nung 2nd anniv namin nung 12, bf gifted me an ipad.
I asked him kagabi
yung halaga ng ipad, makakabili na sya ng e-ring. sabi ko bakit hindi nalang yun binili nya?
he said, "hindi yun budget ko for your e-ring. ayoko ma pressure. kasi once binigay ko sayo yun, magpaplan na dapat tayo ng kasal. walang problema pang kasal problema yung after wedding. tsaka pareho tayo ayaw natin ng long engagement. pag binigyan kita non mag e expect mga tao na malapit na tayo ikasal. bibiglain nalang kita"

tama din naman sya

[dzelibean]

Got a little teary-eyed back-reading some posts.
I don't know if it's because I, too, just like many other engaged girls, still don't have my e-ring yet, or is it because of the emo-blah of understanding that soon enough I know he will still sweep me off my feet and make me smitten with a nice proposal -- I just have to wait.

[babychellee]

Super correct bonus na nga lang yun.. Ang inaabangan ko na ngayon panu kaya sila maging husband, sana hindi magbago

Nakakatuwa magbasa dito sa GTalk kasi minsan akala mo kaw lang nakakaexperience pero normal naman pala [textspeak!] ibang naeexperience mo. Nakakahelp ma-lessen ang mga inis sa mga bagay bagay..

true yan sis. and masarap talaga feeling ng engaged knowing na you're getting hitched soon. pero try visiting the MARRIED LIFE portion of Girltalk..sobrang nakaka lungkot at nakaka depressed din yung ibang topics lalo na sa mga husbands nila na never nilang inimagine na mambababae or mananakit. i wonder how these guys swept off their brides feet during their proposals. Marriage is really more than just receiving a piece of diamond. super swerte lang talaga yung mga girls na super perfect both ang engagement proposal and marriage for those who didn't receive an extravagant and super kakilig na dream proposal, let's look forward nalang on preparing for our upcoming wedding and MARRIAGE yun ang ipagdasal natin na maging ok at sana maging good husbands sila sa atin.

[leynathan]

for me it's important, pero tama ang sabi ng marami, mas importante parin ang life after the wedding. pero wala naman sigurong masama kung umasa tayo sa isang dramatic proposal and nice engagement ring, it adds spice sa love story na masarap ikwento sa mga future kids nyo. start it right ika nga. atsaka masusukat dun kung gano ka creative si h2b.

marami kasi akong kakilala nagsasabi, 'hindi importante ang magandang proposal kung maghihiwalay din naman', sounds like parang napaka corrupted na ng perception ng marami about wedding & marriage. kung positive ang tingin natin sa umpisa, everything follows narin.

[beanpipe]

Hi mga sis.. pasali ha.

@leynathan, tama ka dyan sis.. hindi naman masama na we all hope for the best sa mga magiging marriages natin. Masarap padin balik balikan yung mga ganung very memorable experiences.

[chicgurl]

kwento ko yung story kaso medyo text speak kasi sa chat ko to sinend dun sa friend ko haha tamad na akong mag edit.. sorry po mods dont block me po hihi

excuse for some typo or grammar mistakes hehe like i said mabilisang chat hehe

The Story

at first he lied to me
he said we will go to cirque de soleil for the vday
hahha front seats..
but then what he did was he reenacted our first date 2 yrs ago
like everything
it was actually inter related.. i didnt know where we were going for dinner
coz there were only 2 shows for the cirque
6pm and 10pm
dinner was at 9pm
i was thinking what dinner is this? express?
fast food?
take away? drive thru? hahaha

so i went with the flow..
blah blah blah
then we took the road to dubai marina where the hotel (Grosvenor House
we went on our first date 2 yrs ago
so i had the idea that time.. btw like i said he re enacted the 1st date
so he gave me a long stem rose
but with a card this time
he told me not to open the card and read it later.. so i said hookeeyyy
so there we went to the resto and had dinner, just the usual vday date i thought.. i loved the dinner.. i love the resto he knows that
so we did the usual catch up about the huge week we had at work etc etc..
then we finished the dinner.. inside me i was a bit dramatic coz i really wanted to watch cirque
hahahaha so i was kinda quiet
then he told me we're going somewhere
i knew that it's not cirque of course coz it's finished by that time hahaha
then he took me to the beach..
that beach was memorable coz on our 2nd date 2yrs ago we went there to chat for like at least 3hrs straight..
then he took out my fave dessert that he made.. choc mousse.. he makes amazing mousse..btw
to cut the story short.. the ring was in the mousse so it ended up in my mouth haha good thing i didnt swallow it or threw it hahaha
it was hilarious we ended up laughing
then he took the ring from me and washed it using the bottled water he brought coz it's covered with mousse! i couldnt appreciate it at first coz i looks dirty hahahahaha (arte)
then he gave the ring to me then asked me to marry him..(he actually had an almost 500-word paragraph proposal statement hihi)
i cried hahaha
then after saying yes we stayed for more mins at the beach

then we headed home.. then he said now u can open the card
the card said,, to my fiancé
i laughed coz i told him what if i said no!
then inside it said.. Beautiful words etc etc.. lastly it said let's set the date.

that's it tee hee!

[det060403]

for the longest time, i kept on reminding myself na its not that much important (like, having the grandest ring and a tear jerker proposal) as long as the person is sincere with his intentions. But im a girl, and with all that princesses and happily ever after's... ive been wanting so much more. Pero since bf and I have been planning on our wedding (without him going thru all that proposing stuff), i just shrugged of the thought that maybe one day ill get my piece of a fairy tale... till he actually did... and it just came to me, it is true!!! its not just about the prettiest, most expensive ring he can afford or being able to pull off a well planned surprise that actually got me all emotional... but its that honest to goodness, most sincere, teary-eyed look on his face when he asks you to be his wife. That feeling you get when you know this person really wants to be with you for the rest of his life... its priceless! (plus points na lang talaga if he offers you everything!) 

[chicgurl]

^true.. yung sakin i dont think is super the best or greatest proposal you will ever know but i dont care i would be very happy to tell the story over & over again.. kasi it's the effort & sincerity plus this person chose me to be with him for the rest of his life... saya saya lang ng feeling di ba?