Thank you. He was such a sweet being. The world feels less loving without him 😢

At least for my wife and I, the practical conversations all came before, by the time I proposed, we were already both in agreement about how we would handle finances, kids, etc. The actually proposal absolutely should be romantic, because it's not "I have suddenly decided we will marry, we'll figure it out from here" it's "I'm now ready to take the big step in going from planning to spend our lives together, to actually committing to do it"

There's plenty of room for both romance and practicality, and having a romantic proposal certainly doesn't exclude having practical sober conversations before hand

Bending the knee absolutely should stick around, there are many people (my wife included) who WANT that sort of gesture

You should 100% have an idea of what they'll say before you do it though. I knew my wife was going to say yes, it was merely picking the correct time and place (which I did, and as far as I know, am the only one to do so)

Anyone who springs it on their partner without at least some attempts at subtly discussing marriage is an idiot who deserves if it blows up in their face

After doing all that, I'm pretty sure my wife just put it on the calendar, and I showed up like I always do. Who says romance is dead?

Thank you. It's been a rough time, but we're getting through it slowly.

Yeah, definitely! Proposals are expected to be a once in a lifetime event, so I think it's best to keep it sacred.

And thank you :)

Happy to contribute! lol

That took a twist at the end

But I like dressing up and throwing parties for my loved ones.

Boo freaking hoo. Name a more iconic duo - a scorned divorcee and being bitter. Let people do whatever they want to do - including lavish weddings.

YES! Fucking Christ! Someone else shares my opinion on this issue! Weddings as they're done in the US are so stupid and expensive! Wedding rings are also stupid.

$35?! My whole wedding cost $50. What jurisdictions offer marriage licenses for only 35?

My wedding was my wife and I going to the courthouse on pi day, promising we weren't related, signing the marriage document, then having a pizza pie for dinner and apple pie for dessert, total cost ~$85 (including $30 marriage license).

A couple months later we went to Hawaii for a week and a half with both of our parents and my wifes best friend. Landed and spent a day puttering around since we were all tired, next day we had a ceremony on a gorgeous little beach (millionaires housing community beach, still public access like all beaches but hard to find and not much parking by design) officiated by my dad, had pictures taken by a photographer who also got the permit flowers etc, and spent the remaining 8 days honeymooning/vacationing. Our parents paid for the condo we stayed at as their wedding present ($1500 of $4500 would've been our share) and paid for most of the food while we were there. Total cost was $900 for a photographer (worth they were great and definitely worth it), $500 for plane tickets since we got them early and went in early May when the islands aren't too busy, figure $300 in food and activities that we did without our parents . Wife's dress was $600 including alterations.

Total cost ended up being under $2500 paid over 6 months or so. We got married, had pictures, and a week and a half vacation and honeymoon in Hawaii for less than most people pay for a random venue for 8 hours in the off season.