There's a lot of pressure for men when it comes to figuring out the perfect way to pop the question. He'll group text your closest friends and FaceTime your parents to try to get the inside scoop on the kind of proposal that will make cartoon hearts fly out of your eyeballs (and make a killer Instagram post).
But he probably won't plan for the things that can, and maybe even will, go wrong.
Wondering what could possibly buzzkill one of the most memorable moments of your life? Check out what happened to these grooms when their proposals went seriously wrong.
She couldn't hear me.
“She's a huge Jets fan, so I proposed during halftime at one of the games last year. In the middle of my proposal, a fight broke out a few sections over and everyone was screaming and yelling. It overshadowed my whole thing. She could barely hear what I was saying and I could barely focus either.”
– Mitch K., 29
I forgot the ring.
“I got down on my knee, said what I wanted to say and, when I went to give her the ring from my pocket, I realized I forgot it at home. It was embarrassing. She thought I was joking. The ring really seals the deal and I didn't have that with me so it just made the whole proposal a bust.”
– John R., 27
Someone else proposed first.
“I asked my girl to marry me in Times Square, on a Saturday night. Before I decided it was go time, some guy standing right next to me got down on one knee and proposed. My girl started crying and thought that was so beautiful. I had to wait an hour before it was my turn and I kept thinking she was going to think I just copied this other guy.”
– Jesse L., 30
The truth came out.
“When I proposed, she started crying. That was a good sign, right? Well, that's what I thought. But it turns out it was the breaking point. She started confessing that she had been cheating on me and didn't love me anymore. It was the most awful because she was saying all of this and I was still down on one knee the whole time.”
– Greg T., 25
I said the wrong name.
“I was nervous. Seriously, so nervous. Maybe more nervous than I had ever been about anything in my entire life. Her name is Teresa, but I called her Tessa. You're probably [wondering] how I messed up her name. We had dated for three years and that never happened before. But I was nervous and I just said the wrong name. It was pretty tense for a few minutes and then we both started laughing about it.”
– Patrick W., 26
No one told the parents.
“Apparently her dream proposal included her parents and my parents also there. Not only did I not ask or tell her parents before I asked her to marry me, but I clearly didn't have them there. She stopped me mid-proposal and asked that I wait to do it when her parents were in town. She hijacked the proposal! Maybe that's why I love her so much?”
– Henry W., 26
She said no.
“No guy proposes and thinks the girl is going to say a flat out no. But that's what happened to me. She turned me down on the spot. She didn't even say 'maybe' or 'let me think about this.' She said no and that she couldn't do this with me anymore.”
– Brett M., 29
I couldn't stop crying.
“Not my manliest moment, but I proposed and, when she said yes, I cried. I couldn't stop crying, but neither could she. People around us must have thought something really terrible happened. I bet nobody could predict we were crying because I had just asked her to marry me.”
– Lewis K., 26
I couldn't pop the question.
“I had planned to propose the day of our two-year anniversary, but when the day came around, I decided I didn't want to anymore. I had bought the ring and planned the proposal, but when it was time, I just didn't get a good feeling about the whole thing. I didn't propose and, instead, we broke up.”
– Kendrick N., 28
If you're a guy feeling uneasy after reading these proposal flop stories, just remember, keep it simple. Check with her parents first and, if you do anything before popping the question, check your pockets first to make sure you didn't forget the ring at home.
