If your love has a love for the great outdoors, then planning a kayak trip may be the creative proposal idea for you. This is a simple but very romantic proposal that you can pull of with very little help and it will also be relatively inexpensive. Neither of you have to be experienced at kayaking. The river we go kayaking is no more than belly deep most of the way between where we put in and get out. Many state parks have easy rivers that you can navigate without any types of rapids. At Mammoth Cave, which is closest to where I live, the Green River is a lazy ride with an easy place to access the river with rentals from a couple of different places. Beyond the kayak ride, packing a picnic is also an easy part of the proposal to plan for you to make it that much more special.
Unlike many of the other proposal ideas that involve dressing up and going out to fancy places, this proposal idea won’t require you to buy any new clothes. Most of the things you will need in preparation for your kayak proposal should already be in your house. To prepare for kayaking, each of you will need a bathing suit and a change of clothes. If it is hot outside and you manage not to fall out of your kayak (Or canoe) then towels are not absolutely necessary, but I recommend at least one. You will also need to pack some sunscreen and bug spray. Sunglasses are an absolute must. I like to also pack a couple of hats just in case the sun is extra bright. In addition to the items that you would take on a normal kayaking trip, for a marriage proposal you may also want to pack a picnic.
Since you know and should have all the things you need to take with you, all you have to do is get ready for your trip. If you don’t have your own kayaks, then you will want to call the rental places around where you want to go and find out what their prices and hours are. You don’t have to call ahead, but I highly recommend making a reservation. I have only had one instance where there were no rentals available, but you don’t want the one time it happens to you to be the day you are going to propose.
You can just wing it if you want, but if I were you, I would ask the people at the rental place if there are any islands in the river or places on the side that would be good for a picnic. I would not let them know it is a proposal so they don’t accidentally say something when you are picking up your boats. They will have maps in the visitors center, or you can get a map of the area online like this one. Most parks are going to have at least one of them posted. In the map to the left, you can see the islands along the river are marked. The folks at the rental place will be able to tell you the best ones to have a picnic on. Circle the places on the map you might want to stop so you can have it at the ready as you are floating down the river. Of course she does not need to see it, but it is best for you to be prepared.
One thing I neglected to tell you to pack earlier was a camera. You can always take your phone with you since nearly all phones now have better resolution than many cameras do. Just remember, you are going to be in water and you don’t want your phone to get wet. There are several types of waterproof cameras you can get to take with you. Or you can always get a loksak to carry your phone in. They are seriously awesome bags. I have used the same one in 3 separate Tough Mudders and have not had any issues with it leaking. If you can’t find one of them, then there are several other options specific for phones. Or this might be the perfect excuse for you to buy a GoPro! She can’t give you too much crap for it once she finds out the “real” reason you got it. Side note, it would be even cooler if you made some sort of video using the GoPro documenting the whole day. You could set it to music later and play it at your rehearsal, reception, etc.
Of course, you can step the proposal up a notch by hiring a photographer to accompany you and get your special day on film. This is easy enough to pull off because you can invite the photographer to bring their significant other with them and they can act like they are nature lovers out to get some great pictures. You can have them make reservations at the same time you are supposed to go and just have them build in the cost of the kayaking trip into their fee. It is not uncommon for several people to take the same shuttle to the place where you put in, so your love should be none the wiser. Doing it this way obviously will raise the cost of your proposal, so you can certainly skip it if you want. But it would be something cool to add if you could pull it off.
I am sure every place is different, but the place we go kayaking, you meet at the rental shop. From there you drive separately to the landing spot. Then the rental folks take you (or a group) to the place up river where you put in. So you will float down the river until you reach the spot you left your vehicle. You are not on a timetable other than needing to be back before they close for the evening. Our float is around 8 miles and takes 3-4 hours, so leaving at 10 or 11 gives you plenty of time to do your thing.
Starting at this time also will allow you to eat a light breakfast together and enjoy the morning. You can then drive to the rental place and get the day under way. Once your proposal is finished, you will have plenty of time to visit friends and family so she can show off her new bling. If you want to take her out to a nice dinner that evening, I think that is a great idea. If not, just make her dinner at home and light some candles. After you have been out all day, a little relax time together at home can be a good thing, especially if one of you got a sunburn.
As you float down the river, there are many pretty sights to see and you can make it fun and romantic if you like. Stop off on the side and pick her some flowers, splash water, etc. This is an exciting creative proposal idea and if you are thinking of trying it out, please reach out to us and let us know. We would love to help.
Don’t forget that romance is not a one time thing. Take a moment right now and send her a bouquet of flowers to her work. Random acts of loveness (yeah, I just made that word up) go a long way.
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