Recently, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about all the ways their original proposal plan went wrong. From simple mix-ups to trips to the emergency room, here are some of the best responses:
1. "My ex proposed as he was getting arrested. He had taken me to a spot where he was planning to propose. The spot was on private property (I did not know). A cop came by and said he needed to run our names to check for warrants. Unfortunately, my ex had a warrant and when they were putting him in cuffs they pulled the ring out of his pocket and asked him what he was doing with it. He said, 'I was about to propose to my girlfriend.'"
2. "I had been secretly planning for months to propose to my partner. The day before I had planned to ask him, he asked me! My response: 'Oh no, I was going to ask you tomorrow!' We considered ourselves half engaged on that first day, and fully engaged after I had my turn."
3. "My husband proposed to me in the ER. We went out for dinner, and he planned to propose before dessert. He ordered pasta with portobello mushrooms in it, which he had never had before, and it turned out he was extremely allergic. He went into anaphylactic shock, the waiter called 911, and we had to go to the hospital where he got a dose of epinephrine. While he was being held for observation, I was standing next to the bed filling out paperwork. He just looked at me and asked, 'Will you marry me?' I was completely shocked, and once I knew it wasn’t a reaction to the drugs, I said yes."
4. "My now husband and I were on vacation at Disney World. He didn’t know where to propose there, but somewhere. Following a day of enjoying the park we went back to our hotel to prepare for dinner reservations. I popped into the bathroom while he grabbed the ring out of the hiding spot and tried to figure out how to hide it. I opened the door and there he was, ring box in hand with a stunned look on his face. Poor guy just handed it to me. So yes, we got engaged in a Disney World hotel bathroom."
5. "Not me, but a high school history teacher I had several years ago. One day someone in the class asked him how he proposed to his wife, and he told us that he proposed to her on a beach somewhere in San Diego. When it came down to proposing, a naked guy casually crossed the beach. Then others began to follow. He was proposing on a nude beach; he didn’t know it was a nude beach."
6. "My brother’s friend had a fancy dinner all planned out and was going to propose during it. He put the ring inside of his suit coat, as all men do, and hung it back up without his now-wife knowing. Well, right before they left, she grabbed the jacket to shake it out and unwrinkle it, but out popped the ring. Needless to say dinner turned into a celebration rather than a proposal."
7. "I was flying into Chicago from being out of state for six months, and I decided it was the perfect time for me to be proposed to. Planned the whole thing: I bought us both new outfits, went to a nice dinner, and got us front row tickets to a play. All he had to do was propose! He did not. After the play, we're driving home, and he goes, 'Oh no, you wanted me to propose, didn't you?' The real proposal came a year later in our kitchen."
8. "We decided to go to New Orleans for vacation, and while down there we were going to go on a riverboat for dinner. He ends up getting slightly drunk, inspiring me to drink a bunch. We realize we are pulling back into the port, so we go to the deck to take some pictures with a couple we had met. I go to take a camera from them, turn around, and he is on his knee. That's when the ship blowhorn goes off super loudly. There was an awkward pause, cause I didn't hear him propose. He was clearly waiting for an answer, so I said just said yes."
9. "We were going to meet in our hometown. He flew in, and I drove. He got there before me and had planned to already have the hotel room and be on one knee when I met him. That is not what happened. The hotel gave him a room someone was already staying in. He had to go back down to the lobby and wait on another room to be cleaned. I showed up while he was waiting. We finally got a room and walked in. I started stripping off all my clothes. Bra and shirt, off. I heard him say something and turned around, and he was on one knee. I instinctively grabbed my boobs and said, 'Oh my gosh? Are you serious?!'"
10. "My fiancé decided to hide the ring in one of the windows of my Advent calendar, just a couple days before Christmas. The night before, we got into some Christmas chocolates and watched movies. The next morning I was too sick from chocolate to want to eat my Advent calendar. He begged me all day, but I was clueless. Christmas dinner with family was weird as everyone wanted to see if I had a ring on my finger. I didn’t think much of it and just thought we were having a laugh at my fiancé. I finally figured it out on Boxing Day, and we both had a big laugh."
11. "My husband had planned to propose after five years together at the finish line of the half marathon we had been training for for six months. A month before the run, my husband tore almost every muscle in his knee during a soccer game and couldn’t run. His brother took his place in the run because it was non-refundable, and my parents randomly canceled their trip down. I still had no clue anything was wrong. A week after the run, he proposed to me via our annual pumpkin carving competition."
12. "My husband had an elaborate plan to take me to dinner where we had our first date. I was so excited because I knew it was coming. Then, nothing. He panicked. So we drove the whole hour back home, and I was so confused. We walked in the room; he was so scared and blurted out, 'Will you marry me?' I said yes. We kissed. It was great."
13. "My husband planned to propose during a visit to me, so he coordinated with my sister-in-law a couple months prior to have the engagement ring mailed to her house. I was unaware, and we planned a vacation to the Grand Canyon during his visit. Our Grand Canyon vacay came and went, and a few days later my sister-in-law posted a photo of my engagement ring on Facebook with mean comments, saying she had just received this random package with an ugly ring. I saw the post and immediately realized that it was for me. She called and texted me the rest of the day to apologize for being judgmental about the ring, and my husband ended up proposing to me at a local park the next day."
14. "My now-husband planned to propose to me on my birthday weekend at my favorite spot in town with a hidden photographer and then whisk me away to a weekend getaway that he had planned for nearly a year. A week before, I got bit by a dog and ended up in the hospital for a week, nearly losing part of my hand from the infection. Rather than just rescheduling and holding onto the secret, he took me to the eternal flame, which was ironically out for some reason, and proposed with the saddest look on his face while immediately telling me the amazing things he planned but had to cancel."
15. "His band was going to play one of the side stages at a festival my favorite band was headlining and our good friend was DJ’ing. We were all set to hang out with the band backstage during the after party, and they had (unbeknownst to me) agreed to play my favorite song during their set and allow my (then) boyfriend to propose to me onstage. And then COVID happened. The whole festival was canceled, and we were under strict stay-at-home orders. The weekend the festival was supposed to take place, he broke down and told me the whole plan. He was heartbroken that it was ruined."
16. "My now-fiancé proposed to me on my work parking ramp. I was walking to my car after work, I was extremely tired and sweaty, I got to my car, and there was a bouquet of roses and a note in the car. I read the note, and it said, 'turn around.' I turn around, and I see someone peeping out from behind a van. Remind you, it’s dark, 9:30 p.m., on a dimly lit parking ramp. I thought I was about to be murdered. My fiancé comes out from around the corner, walks over to me, and proposes. His backup plan was to surprise me at the state fair, my favorite place in the whole world. But no, he went with a dimly lit scary parking ramp."
17. "He had a date night planned; he talked my cousin into taking me to get my nails done; I happened to go to Drybar to get my hair styled — it all lined up. But the ring he ordered didn’t come in in time! He then tried to take me out to a nice dinner the next week. I told him I’d rather order takeout and stay in. We had an inside joke about him proposing while I held up my ringless left hand. When I said it, he got up without a word and came back and got down on one knee. I was wearing pajamas, I hadn’t showered, but it didn’t matter at all. I wouldn’t change a thing about that moment."
18. And, "We went ring shopping at an antique shop on the way to lunch with my mother and discovered the perfect set. As we were paying, the sales lady got super excited and quickly jammed the ring on my finger and insisted on taking our picture for their social media accounts. When we got to the car, my now-spouse looked at me and said, 'Do you want to marry me or that sales lady?' Amusingly, we got held up at lunch with my mother, and we got tagged on the shop's social media before we made our own announcement."
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.