Does your lady love to go stargazing when the skies are clear? Maybe she just likes to experience new things. Let’s hope she isn’t afraid of the dark or get uncomfortable in the outdoors at night. If you think she will enjoy a night under the stars with you, then a creative proposal idea for you is to take her out during one of the annual meteor showers and propose under the stars. Unlike doing your proposal in a planetarium, you have to have fair weather in order to make this proposal a reality.
Most people in the northern hemisphere will want to use the Perseid meteor shower to propose under. Not only is it consistently the best performing meteor shower, it also occurs in the warm summer month of August. If you are going to spend several hours under the stars with your lady, then the summer is the time to do it. You will still want to prepare for some chill in the air. Even in the summer it can get chilly at night, especially once the dew starts to fall. We will touch on your preparation below, but first let’s look at the other meteor showers that occur annually.
The Leonid meteor shower is another annual shower that you can plan your proposal around. It is fairly consistent and has given us the biggest meteor storm in the past century. This one is in mid November, so unless you are pretty far south in the northern hemisphere, you will really need to bundle up. There are more ways to stay warm than just to bundle up. You may just have to get a little closer. 🙂
The Lyrid meteor shower is an April shower, but not one that causes May flowers. Hopefully it plants the seed for your future beautiful life. Planning your romantic marriage proposal during the Lyrids is probably going to be a chilly night, so this is another one that may require some snuggling.
These are the top producers year after year. You can always keep an eye on http://earthsky.org to see if there are any other major events happening during the time when you want to propose. The main thing you want to remember is that the night is about her. If you get to see a big meteor shower during the evening, then that is great. If you do not, then you got to spend an evening in the great outdoors with the woman you love and hopefully have a commitment from her that you will be spending the rest of the evenings of your life together.
Now let’s get to the good stuff. If you are going to pull off this creative proposal idea, then you are going to have a little bit of planning to do. You don’t have to spend a lot of money (provided you have the items you need to stay warm). The biggest thing you will want to do is make sure she stays comfortable all night long. This includes keeping her warm, her belly full, and her mind from getting bored.
First we will keep her warm. While I did not choose to use this as my creative proposal idea, I have taken Bekah stargazing a few times. The following items are a great starting point for you to stay comfy as you are out under the stars.
Layers of clothes. Anyone who has spent time hiking or camping will know that layering clothes is the way to go. If it is hot outside, you won’t need much more than a base layer of shorts and a tee plus a light long sleeve shirt and maybe some pajama pants. If you choose to go out and it is chilly then your base layer may be some tights and a long sleeve tee. Your outer layer will be a little heavier; perhaps a jacket and some comfortable pants. You may also want to spring for some snazzy socks for her. I personally like the tall striped kind like you get from Smartwool, but get whatever floats your boat. Bring along some gloves for her as well. Those little one size fits all pocket gloves should do unless it is super cold.
Speaking of socks and gloves, you should also be prepared with some hand and foot warmers. Heck, they even make body warmers now. For less than ten bucks you can keep her super warm and happy.
You have your body covered, now you need to figure out a way to lay down without getting, dirty, frozen, wet, or a combination of all three. I have a truck so we are able to keep off the ground by laying in the bed. I also like that we can put the tailgate up and it feels like we are closed in. Having the tailgate up also keeps the breeze at bay if there is one. The last time we went out, I took our yoga mats to soften the bed liner up a little bit. If you are laying on the ground and it is cold, yo
u may want a thicker sleeping pad. If it is warm, a yoga mat will suffice. I use mime when camping as well.
Sleeping bags are my favorite thing to take for cover even if it is warm outside. You can unzip them all the way and make a blanket (or blankets) out of them if you don’t want to be in separate bags. If it is chilly out, you may also want to bring an extra blanket just in case.
If it is summertime I cannot express how much you will want some bug spray. There are few things less romantic than a freaking gang of mosquitoes doing drive bys around your ears. That sound drives me bonkers. And the bites are no fun either.
You can make a little mini picnic to take as a midnight snack, but I have never been hungry while stargazing, so that is pretty optional. I would recommend taking some hot chocolate or coffee in a thermos with you to keep her warm if it is cold out. Of course, if it is a hot night you might want to bring something cold to drink. I have never had that issue though. I am not sure what it is about chicks and chapstick, but if it is cold or even cool out, have a stick of it at the ready. Chances are she will not bring her purse and be mad because she does not have any. You will be a hero.
Now that you are prepared, it is time to pick out a spot. This may take some effort (and gas) a few nights or weeks before the actual marriage proposal because you will need to find a spot that is dark enough to see the stars clearly and not have any street lights in your eyes. You almost have to do this at night so you can check it out and make sure there isn’t a strange light that you are not aware of. Or maybe the meteors are coming from the north and the place you pick has a nasty city glow that drowns out the stars. While this is not a deal breaker for you getting on one knee, it does make a difference in seeing a shooting star and making it that much more of an unforgettable marriage proposal for her.
It is important when you get out to the site you chose to get settled in and let your eyes acclimate to the dark. This means no words with friends, facebook, etc. It will be just the two of you under the stars so make sure to have a nice conversation. Don’t let it take a trip down the usual complaining about work or school. Chicks dig reflecting on the past, so you can bring up some old memories about your first date, the best times you have had together and all that good jazz. Keep on your toes though because you never know when a meteor will fly. When you guys do see one you should take the opportunity to transition to proposal mode. If I were you, I would have something in my mind I wanted to say. Perhaps it could relate to the stars or maybe you just use the shooting star as a transition to say how you have had another memorable night together and that you want to have a million more of them…What you say is up to you, just make it meaningful.
After the proposal and hopefully she says yes, you are alone under the stars. You might want to make a real romantic evening out of it. wink wink
Beyond that, I would wrap it up and ask her if she wants to go celebrate over some food. Nothing caps a night under the stars proposing to the woman you love like some Moons over My Hammy and a Banana Split from Denny’s. Mmmmm.
Do you want to try this creative proposal idea and want some tips to help you pull it off? Email us and we will do what we can to help.
Lastly, show her you love her to the moon and back by sending her a bouquet of flowers right now. She will appreciate it more than you know.
