Not too many years ago, notes Reverend Hall of the Unitarian Church in Westport, a young man was required to ask the girl’s father for her hand. Marriage was a contract between families. “Today, many of the couples I marry are already living together — or they lie to me about it.” Although proposals may seem anachronistic, hearts still beat faster when a man asks those four simple words while on bended knee.
It’s also quite a challenge. There’s no training for popping the question. All a man has are old movies and his imagination. As a result, proposals are as varied and disarming as the smiles of a woman in love.