I wish I could make it interesting in some way, but in my case the interesting part of the story isn't the marriage proposal, it's everything else that happened before it!

I want to make it funny but not stupid;
down to earth but not crude;
touching but not maudlin;
sweet but not too sweet.

The guy is older, maybe 40, and never been married. The woman is younger, maybe 25, and a widow. The challenge is to make it so it doesn't look like either a "rescue" marriage (he is older and protective but really does admire and love her) or as if she had cozied up to him to get what she wanted (she needs help, but really does respect and love him.)

Is this just too ridiculous?

It's difficult to say it is or isn't ridiculous without knowing what's gone before. The rest of the story tells whether or not it's a marriage of convenience.

It shouldn't be hard to make a proposal interesting. Even if the answer is a foregone conclusion, there's still fun to be had in how you treat the asking.

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SF08: Gethsemane - Thriller
SF08: Shooting - Comedy - 105 pages - done

Good luck to you all.

Well... the way my father proposed went something like this: My mom said he was a good guy and that she hoped he invited her to his wedding if he ever got married. His reply was that he hoped she'd be there, since he intended for her to be the bride. ^_^ How's that for funny and sweet?

Good luck with the rest of the month.
___
NaNo 2006: Steel Bars - 59,233 words
Screnzy 2007: The Enchanted Forest - won
NaNo 2007: Turning Beetles into Buttons - 51,949 words
Screnzy 2007: Simple Gifts - 43 pages total & Butterfly - 6 episodes

A lot of my friends have gotten engaged lately. Here are a few examples:

One guy knelt down in the pouring rain to propose (for real; it doesn't just happen in the movies).

One guy made his intended dig through a sandbox he put in her living room to find her ring (she has a degree in anthropology, and he filled the sandbox with other things that were reminiscent of their courtship)

One guy carried the ring in his sock so she wouldn't feel the box in his pocket when they went for a walk. He proposed to her in front of the fort in St. Augustine, where they first held hands.

One guy had an elaborate setup where he would sit with her outside under some kind of structure (I forgot where they were) and his friend would lower the ring down to them on a string, but the friend forgot what the signal was and didn't lower the ring for a long time.

You can find humor in the little things, like difficulty in fishing the ring out of his pocket, getting the ring box to open, etc. It doesn't have to be a slapstick routine though.

Obstacles can add to humor.
Does she already have kids? They complicate things nicely, intruding at romantic moments, asking silly questions, spilling the beans, making rude noises over romance, etc.
Or cats, dogs, or another pet could do similarly.
Or the neighbor (concerned? nosy? elderly? prosyletizing? fund-raiser? guru? salesman? whatever type you want!).

You can also find humor in the disconnect.
Perhaps there's thunder and lightning and the scene is scary rather than romantic;
or she's burning the romantic dinner, spills the spaghetti on the prospective mother-in-law's head (I actually did this--oh woe is me),
or shows up in too casual clothes.
Perhaps the music is some kid's tune or something they both hate.

Good luck.

Saipanwriter
http://saipanwriter.blogspot.com
United, we H.A.C.K.

And don't forget music! As a hearing person, the "soundtrack" can add a lot. Have something pertinent to their peculiarities in the background.

When Hubby asked me to marry him, he gave me time to think about it. After a lotta prayer, I went to one of those photo booths where they have a line of four shots on one strip. The first shows me holding a sign saying, "And the answer is...", second: "Yes, yes", third: "A thousand times, yes!", fourth, "Thank you, Don Pardo." (Don Pardo was the annoucer on Jeopardy -- in the pre-Alex, Art Fleming years)

Okay, I'm not a romantic person, but my granddaughters thought it was amusing when it slipped out of my wedding album.

So he could ask, then you build suspense by her needing time to answer, and she answers in a kooky-sweet way.

Good luck - don't give up - push on to the finish line!

^o^ ^o^ ^o^
Reality is for people who can't handle writing fiction.

Thank you very much, everyone. This helps. (And the stories made me smile.)

Now I just gotta get it written before tomorrow at midnight! Maybe I'll write several alternatives and decide which is best...

"If a teacher is just a frustrated actor, is an actor also a frustrated teacher?"