If you’re in love and you want to spend the rest of your life with your special someone, congratulations! Being in a relationship and wanting to get married is a magical time and asking someone for their hand in marriage is an incredible moment of your life. It’s a great situation to be in.
Of course, this can also be a nervous time. You might be feeling anxious and apprehensive about the entire process of proposing and you might feel like you’re not ready for it. Those feelings are natural. This is a big moment and a big change in your life, so it makes sense that it could cause you some anxiety and worry. In other cases, you might not be anxious, but you might be wondering where to start or how to go about proposing.
Here are some tips for preparing yourself to propose.
Think About Your Relationship
One reason that people get nervous when they think about proposing is they worry about their partner saying yes. One great way to alleviate this fear is to truly take some time to think about your relationship. You know your girlfriend or boyfriend better than just about anyone and you know your relationship very well also. If you stop and think about it, you probably already know what your partner will say when you ask them to marry you.
Think about whether you’ve talked about marriage in the past. If you have, you probably have a good feeling about whether they’d like to get married. Think about all of the times you’ve talked about your futures. When you do, do you talk about your future together? If you do, then there’s a good chance that both of you see this relationship lasting for a very long time.
Another possible cause of anxiety is concern about what it will be like to be married. You might think you’re not ready to take this step or you might be concerned that everything will change once you’ve walked down the aisle together. Again, it helps to think about you, your partner, and your relationship at this time. You know how the two of you act and feel and you probably have a pretty good idea about how you will act once you’re married. You may have even talked about it before. (Here are some suggestions for why you may want to talk about marriage before you propose.)
Talk to People You Trust
Talking to friends and family members that you trust is a great way to calm anxiety and nerves. You don’t have to explicitly tell them that you’re thinking about proposing (if you want to keep it a secret from everyone) but you can still discuss relationships and your future in more general terms. Your friends and family know you well and they’ll be able to give you some important perspective on your relationship and your future that could help ease your anxiety.
Research Rings
Another reason that some people get nervous is that they’re concerned about buying an engagement ring. This makes sense because, for many people, shopping for an engagement ring is their first experience with buying high-end jewelry.
The good news is that it isn’t hard to learn about engagement rings. With a bit of research, you’ll not only feel more comfortable buying a ring, but knowing about rings can help you buy a better ring and get a better deal.
Looking for some help? Our diamond education center is a great place to start. There you’ll find helpful information on the 4 Cs of diamond quality, details on diamond grading, shapes, structure, and color, as well as some important tips on diamond care, and much more!
Plan Your Proposal
Planning out your proposal can make you feel much more relaxed about the entire engagement process. The unknown is scary, so planning will usually ease your mind. You might not want to plan the entire day step-by-step, but putting together a brief overview of what you want to do can certainly help calm you down. You may also want to think of a contingency plan. For instance, you might be planning to propose in the park, but you should have a backup plan in case it rains. If you have an alternate idea in mind, you won’t have to worry if something goes wrong.
Also, remember that you might be nervous on the actual day, so take some time to think about what you’re going to say. Again, you don’t need to write out every word that you’re going to say, but having a general idea can be helpful and can make you feel calmer.
