Here is an interactive creative proposal idea for you if you have a lady who likes an adventure. A treasure hunt can take the idea of a scavenger hunt and spin it in an interesting way. You can make this a fairly simple outing for the two of you to “discover” some hidden treasure, or you can create an elaborate story complete with maps and artifacts. Personally, I would go all out, but I know there is something to be said for keeping it simple. As usual, we will cover doing it both ways so you can make the choice of which version you would like to do.
Let’s start out with the simple version of the treasure hunt marriage proposal idea. There are a few things you will most likely need in order to make this happen. The first thing is the ring (duh). Then you will want to get some sort of a package to hold it in. This can be any number of things, but I would go with a treasure chest
The rest of this creative proposal idea should be pretty easy to set up. You will want to find a suitable place to bury or hide the treasure. Because you are not burying anything huge and you won’t require a large hole, you can choose a private or public location. If you choose a public one, just make sure that you hide it where no one is watching so they don’t go back and get it when you leave. And for the love of all things holy, get permission to dig if it is a public place. You will most likely also want to hide it somewhere semi private so that you can have your moment without a big crowd.
Here are some of the potential places you can hide your treasure and how.
Your yard: This can be semi private and is probably one of the safer routes to go. You won’t have to worry about too many people seeing you bury the item and it is a great place to “try out” the metal detector when it arrives. You can also usually dig freely in your own yard without many questions coming up.
The setup would go something like this. Get the ring, buy your treasure chest (and accessories if you so desire), and the metal detector. Have them sent to your work or someplace she will not see them when they arrive. Pick out a spot in your yard that you think will be the perfect spot to propose to your lady. I would call a local photographer and have them come out to capture the proposal. If you choose to do that, you may want to have them come out beforehand and help you with the location to bury the treasure. This will ensure the lighting is right and that they can be hidden from view as you propose.
Once you find the spot and choose your day, just bury the ring inside the treasure chest. When you bury it, make sure to dig the hole in such a way that you do not kill the grass. You can use a shovel to dig out an upside down pyramid. When you put the treasure chest in the hole, then you can knock off as much of the “top” of the pyramid as necessary to put your plug (the pyramid) back in the ground and have it fit nicely. Just make sure to do this on a sheet of plastic or something so it does not look like you have been digging there.
Test the metal detector now that you have the treasure in the ground. You MUST make sure it will pick it up from different angles, directions, height off the ground, etc. Since you are going to have her doing the detecting, you have to test it like she will be using it.
Leading up to the day, you can tell her how you borrowed a metal detector from a buddy who found all kinds of stuff in his yard. Or you can tell her you bought one because you are interested in it. Whatever you choose, that is your lead in to ask her if she wants to go out and practice with you. You should start somewhere away from the ring and work your way towards it. When you get fairly close, ask her if she wants to try, and show her what to do. Then send her in the direction of the ring.
Hopefully all your preparation will pay off and the detector will go bananas. When it does, have her zero in on it and then hand her the shovel. Tell her it is her responsibility to dig it up because she found it. It should be easy for her to dig up since you have already turned the dirt recently. She should hear or feel the treasure chest. Help her move the dirt (this gets you down on your knees). When the box presents itself, let her open it. If I were doing it, I would have a bunch of coins or gems
The preparation for doing a marriage proposal in a park is similar to doing it at home except you have to make sure to keep it much more hidden so no one digs it up when you are not around. You can enlist the help of a friend on this one if it would make you feel better. You could show your friend where to bury the chest and have them do it an hour or so before you are going to head that way. Then they could just sit back a ways and watch the spot until you are on the way. The only drawback here is that it has to go just right with the digging of the hole, the detector registering the chest, etc. It might work fine, but on a day like this, I personally would not want to leave anything to chance.
Again, as part of the prep, you might want to hire a photographer to capture the moment. If you do, all the same rules apply. Have them meet you at the park beforehand at the same time of day you plan on proposing so they can make sure the lighting is right and they have a place to hide.
As an added bonus to doing your marriage proposal in a park, you can have a picnic prepared for the two of you after the deed is done.
The beach: Having a treasure hunt marriage proposal on the beach is a great enhancement to a destination proposal. Unless you are on Necker Island (which would be awesome and if you do, please let me know) or have your own private beach, you are going to need some help here because it is dangerous to leave something buried on the beach. If you are staying in a hotel, I would work with the concierge to find a trustworthy person who can stand watch over your treasure until you get to it. I am sure you could find someone who will take $50 or $100 for a few hours worth of work.
If you really wanted to be crazy with this one, you could hire an artist who makes sand castles or other sand sculptures and have them make something elaborate with the ring underneath. That way, when the metal detector goes off, there will be a big question about whether or not to destroy the art to find the treasure. Or if you don’t want to destroy the art to get to the treasure you could have the artist make a shipwreck and have the chest inside it where it was easy to reach for her. You could also have them build a big castle where the courtyard is open for you to put the chest in. There are all kinds of options, just let your mind run wild. The beach artist will also be able to help you
Just as with the other types, the prep for a beach treasure hunt proposal starts the same with the chest, coins, etc. This is a great one to use the map template for. You can really have fun with making a map out of the beach you are on using google earth to get the lay of the land and make the map as if it was created before all the buildings were there.
This would also be a great place to have a romantic beach picnic afterwards. You just have to make sure you don’t get into trouble for having alcohol in public.
Underwater: This is one you can try using a snorkel or scuba guide service. They can take the treasure chest down to where they are going to take you scuba diving / snorkeling. Of all the treasure hunt marriage proposal ideas featured, you won’t have to have a metal detector for this one. Of course there are more things to have to do in preparation for this one. You will still need the treasure chest and accessories. I would look for one that would really shine under the water. There are some out there that are silver and would create a nice glare for her to explore.
I would only choose to do this creative proposal idea if you really wanted to do something outside the box. You will not be able to propose using your outside voice. You could always have a sign, but that would also need to be buried under the water because it would be tough to get that jammed in your speedo. I am sure the guide you are using would bury the sign for you as well. Watch the video below and check out how this guy did it. The sign and ring, and a bit of a monologue were in the chest. It was pretty cool.
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, while you are feeling romantic, send her a special delivery of a bouquet of flowers tomorrow. You will be the biggest love pirate she knows.
