Marriage proposal idea
The Zip Pocket
Slip it into their pack at the trailhead and ask at the turnaround.
- Cost
- $0-40
- Effort
- easy
- Best for
- the partner who would rather be outside than anywhere else
The idea
Before you leave the house, put whatever you are giving them into the zipped lid pocket of their own daypack. Hike the trail you always hike. At the turnaround, when you both sit down for water, tell them to unzip that pocket.
The line writes itself, because they carried it the whole way up and had no idea. It is a small trick and it lands hard. It also keeps your hands empty, so you are not patting your jacket every ten minutes for four miles, which is how most people give it away.
They dig in that pocket for a granola bar at mile one, so pick a pocket they never open and carry every snack in your own pack. Skip the trail with the view everybody stops at, too, because that turnaround will have six people sitting at it. Take the boring bench instead.
What to say
“You've had that on your back since the parking lot. It sat in my sock drawer for a week before that because I couldn't work out how to bring it up, so I made you haul it up the hill instead. I want a lot more days that look exactly like this one. Will you marry me?”
Say it slower than feels natural. The pause after it is the whole moment, so let it sit there.
What you'll need
- 🎉their daypack with a zippered pocketFind it
- 💍a small drawstring pouchFind it
- 🎉a mini carabiner to clip the pouch insideFind it
- 🎉water and snacks in your packFind it
- 🎫a folded index card with their name on itFind it
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Step by step
- 1Pick a trail you have both done and a turnaround spot that is usually empty.
- 2Load their pack the night before, into the zipped lid pocket or the inside zip pocket, never the open mesh one.
- 3Run the drawstring through the zipper pull or clip the pouch to a loop inside, then zip it shut.
- 4Carry the water and snacks in your pack so they have no reason to dig.
- 5Hike it normally and do not keep checking on the pocket.
- 6At the turnaround, sit down and hand them their own pack.
- 7Tell them to unzip that pocket, then ask.
Plan the rest of it
Full Blueprint
Want the whole thing planned down to the minute?
The idea above is the shape of the day. The Blueprint is the rest of it, built around your person and the place you picked.
- A run of show with real times, from the morning until the toast
- The speech, written in your words, with the part to memorize marked
- A shot list for whoever is filming, so they know where to stand
- A supplies checklist with what to buy and when to buy it
- A rain plan, because outdoor asks lose to weather more than anything else
Building the plan is free. The Blueprint is $14.99, added to the plan once you have one you like.
Getting the photo
Want the moment captured?
A local photographer can hide in plain sight and catch the yes as it happens, then keep shooting for a mini session right after. Flytographer has vetted proposal photographers in hundreds of cities, so search yours before you book anyone else.
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Plan one like this, built around your person
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