Putting Marriage Proposal Ideas into Action...

This post is a follow-up to the following one, originally posted on 5/9:

Engagement Proposal Ideas

In the true spirit of ignoring the adage "[censored] or get off the pot," I still have not popped the question. I'm still working on finalizing the perfect idea, as I really want to go for the ol' sweep her off her feet approach (keep in mind, I've been with this girl for over 7 years, so it will have to be something completely over the top in order to WOW her).

Here is where I have gotten so far. As far as logistics go, I was hoping that some of the 2+2er NYers could provide some much-needed input.

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<u>Idea 1: Movie Coming Attraction Proposal</u> - On a "typical" dinner and a movie date, a trailer comes on before the movie starts which is essentially a personalized, "home-made" trailer with pictures of us and our song that ends with the title WILL YOU MARRY ME?

Pros
-We both love movies
-We can easily visit there every year on an anniversary
-It's fairly unique and romantic
-It's consistent with my life-long passion (making movies)
-Could easily be made private (rent out entire theater)

Cons
-Corny?
-Could come off as VERY cheeseball depending on what the actual trailer ends up looking like
-Do girls who want to be romanced really want to be proposed to in the movies? (And do I want to be on one knee at the movies?)
-Difficult to pull off and relies on too many people (though my uncle is the head projectionist at the NYC IMAX and I have a friend in film school in LA).

<u>Idea 2: Planetarium Proposal</u>

Pros
-She always wanted to go on a date here, but we never have
-Can be combined with blindfolding to add to romantic setting
-We can easily visit there every year on an anniversary

Cons
-Can a planterium in NYC be rented out for a private party?
-Can they do anything cool like write words in the stars?

<u>Idea 3: Central Park Nighttime Picnic</u>

Pros
-she surprised me years ago with a candlelit evening in Washington Square Park years ago, so it has a nice "full circle" aspect to it
-obviously romantic
-can be combined with Ideas 1 or 2 very easily (perhaps even with a limo)
-We can easily visit there every year on an anniversary

Cons
-Logistics for legally setting up a candlelit dinner in Central Park? Sounds like I will need to consult NYPD.
-Dinner sounds tough to pull off in the Park. I'd be willing to pay for a restaurant staff for an hour. Not sure if this is even affordable, let alone possible.

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As you can see, there's a lot of gaps that I need to fill in quick if I am going to pull this off. The last thing I want to do is not get my act together and end up delivering a half-assed proposal. I'd like to start this marriage off on a good note. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[rwanger]

I like #1, it seems the most original and creative to me.

[Mrs. Utah]

I like #1 too-

It doesn't really matter how it turns out-she'll love it anyway.
btw...girls like corny [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[blinden84]

#1 seems really hard to pull off to me, I'm speaking as a former movie theatre projectionist.

The movie companies often mandate pretty strongly what is shown before the movies. A slide would be a lot easier to pull off, but an actual movie clip would be tough. Especially getting one in 32mm, most students do their work in 16 and your friend may or may not have access to 32mm equipment. Also, I think this would be expensive.

Also, it's not easy for the projectionist to just add something into the movie like that once it's already built and everything, and then take it off again one showing later. This is kinda asking a lot I think.

[z28dreams]

A note about #1 - if you do that, you're stuck watching the movie for the next 2 hours, which will kind of ruin the mood.

Wherever you do it, I'd suggest somewhere where you can talk after.

[guids]

Also, if you are doing #1 rent out the whole theatre so you guys are alone.

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I'm speaking as a former movie theatre projectionist.

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Perfect! Get ready for a line of questioning. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

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The movie companies often mandate pretty strongly what is shown before the movies.

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Could this at all be worked around by the fact that I would pay to rent out the entire theater (i.e., no one would find out about it anyway)?

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A slide would be a lot easier to pull off, but an actual movie clip would be tough. Especially getting one in 32mm, most students do their work in 16 and your friend may or may not have access to 32mm equipment. Also, I think this would be expensive.

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Understood that movie theaters play 35mm (which is what I think you meant) as their default format (and I assume 70mm is the default for the IMAX, which I just realized), but don't some projection booths have the capability to play other formats as well? For some reason, I have a feeling that the IMAX (even if it's not the IMAX theater) is able to do this. This I can call my uncle about and inquire.

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Also, it's not easy for the projectionist to just add something into the movie like that once it's already built and everything, and then take it off again one showing later. This is kinda asking a lot I think.

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I was never thinking that the actual celluloid would be spliced into the film that was being shown. I agree this is a logistical nightmare, if not outright impossible to pull off.

Now that you mention all these limitations, I think I may have thought of a workaround. Since there seem to be some legal restrictions to dodge from the movie companies, would this perhaps be a ton easier to pull off if there was never any movie being shown to begin with? That is, it would look we were going to the movies, but in fact it would just be an empty theater that we "borrowed" for 10 minutes in order to just show my clip (full with convincing light effects to sell the fact that we were watching coming attractions). The only limitation I see here is when the hell can you just snag a theater for 10 minutes? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

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A note about #1 - if you do that, you're stuck watching the movie for the next 2 hours, which will kind of ruin the mood.

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Thought about that. The plan would be to whisk her away right after the proposal, hop into a limo, and maybe proceed to Idea #3. I'll consider the $19.00 lost on movie tickets a sunk cost. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[blinden84]

Yes, of 35mm of course, I've been in computers too long already, everything is in multiples of 2 (4,8,16,32,64, etc).

Imax theatres I can't help you with (I actually thought they were 72mm, I've been out of that buisness for a few years, I think the standard movie house projectors can typically play 16 and 35, and sometimes 70, but Imax is 72 I belive, and I don't know how those projectors are capable of playing other film sizes.

I know that when I was a projectionist, it was very laid back at the company I worked for, and if a friend wanted to do this, I would do it for him without much problem probably just between normal showings if it was just a small loop of film that I could thread without splicing it into the actual built movie.

I don't think the Imax thing would work out for you, and you would still probably have to do it in 35mm, because even though these projectors are commonly capable of playing 16 (and some even 8) it requires a good bit of equipment change on the projector head itself, something a lot of guys aren't capable (or willing, because it can take some time) to do.

[shant]

Proposing in front of a bunch of people is so lame. It's a private thing, your park idea is best.