Women have dreams of romantic proposals and this usually extends to a romantic dinner, a holiday or perhaps a candlelit picnic. Some have loftier ideas off the top of the Empire State Building or the pinnacle of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

However, some guys have more imaginative ideas. They are determined to give their girlfriends the proposal that will be impossible to say no to and will be one that will be remembered forever. The amount of thought and planning that goes into these declarations of love is wonderful.

Guys commissioned companies to custom make ice cream tubs, Monopoly boards and special menus, just to get their feelings across. If this is not on the agenda, then a far-flung destination might be in the cards. It might be a bit soon for lunar proposals, but one guy decided to propose while he and his girlfriend were at zero gravity in the air.

If money is an issue, guys have been more inventive in finding cheaper ways to get the point across. Local supermarkets, video games, and naturally occurring landscapes may cost no money to arrange but the women involved appreciated the effort and time that their heroes had put into showing them how much they loved them. We can only wonder how outlandish the weddings were, quite a lot to live up to after proposals like these.

20 20. On a Log Flume

One man decided to propose to his long-term girlfriend while on the log flume at Alton Towers in the UK. He sat behind her on the theme park ride, and as the ride progressed, he revealed a specially made t-shirt, on which the words ‘Will you marry me?’ were printed.

His girlfriend had no idea that the proposal was happening as she enjoyed the ride. The proposal was captured on the ride’s camera and the proposal was revealed as the couple viewed the photos at the end of the ride. As she spotted the photo, she turned to find her boyfriend on one knee with a ring in his hand.

19 19. In a Menu

One lady headed out on a girl’s night out, unaware of what was being planned for the evening by her boyfriend. She entered a restaurant and the hostess began to explain the specials as she handed menus to the guests.

One menu, however, was slightly different than the others. At the end of the pudding options, there was another choice. Printed at the bottom of the menu were the words: ‘Will you marry me?’ As the hostess walked away, the man in question appeared with roses and a ring. Fortunately, the surprise paid off and the couple became engaged on that night.

18 18. With a Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Tub

One guy whisked his girlfriend away for a romantic break to propose and relied on her weakness for sweet things to make his proposal. He took her for an early morning stroll and suggested they stop for a snack. His girlfriend thought nothing of his pulling out an ice cream tub to munch on, but the tub held a hidden secret.

The tub had been custom made by Ben and Jerry’s, with the marriage proposal printed on the outside in place of the flavor. The ‘sweet’ gesture had a positive effect and a delicious secret inside, a ring box. All this persuaded the lady to agree to marry her beau.

17 17. Walmart with a Soda Display

One guy relied on his beloved’s routine for shopping at Walmart to make his proposal. He must have known she would head for the soda display, as he arranged a floor to ceiling display of her favorite drink so that the white sides of the boxes displayed his proposal in soda.

Another heartwarming Walmart proposal involved a previously married couple who had not seen each other for 43 years. Louis Demetriades tracked down the ex-wife he realized he still loved and found out she worked at Walmart. He went into the store on Valentines Day and proposed with a sign and Valentines gifts. The overcome store worker was so surprised and delighted, she agreed.

16 16. In a Car Crash Stunt

A practical joke was the theme of this far from a romantic proposal. A Nigerian man faked a car knocking him over in the street and even arranged for some fake blood to be pooled around his ‘body’ as he lay motionless on the ground.

His heartbroken girlfriend rushed to the scene to try and revive him, as he came back to life and stood up to ask her to marry him. He had a friend positioned nearby with a ring and proposed to his confused girlfriend in the street. Luckily, after the death-defying stunt, it paid off and she said yes.

15 15. At the Aquarium

One proposal took place in the Fujian province in China, in quite a spectacular fashion. The man in question spent two months taking scuba diving lessons before taking his girlfriend to the local aquarium under false pretenses.

He left her outside one of the tanks, saying he was going to get drinks, then appeared on the other side of the glass in scuba gear, with a banner asking his dumbstruck girlfriend to marry him. He had arranged for another diver to hold flowers out to her at the same time. They touched hands through the glass, which signaled the acceptance.

14 14. In a Crop Field with Writing on the Corn

This proposal took three months and a lot of persuasion in the planning. The hopeful groom colluded with a crop farmer to arrange for him to grow his corn and produce a crop circle with the words of his proposal marked into the corn.

He then took the stunned lady up in a helicopter and, at 200 feet up in the air, as they flew over the words in the field, he proposed with a ring, reiterating the question, once they landed in the field. The couple then celebrated their engagement with a picnic among the crops that had spelled out the proposal.

13 13. At Zero Gravity

As Graciela Asturias walked up the steps of a Boeing 727, she thought she was on a day trip to experience zero gravity with her boyfriend to celebrate her birthday. The trip included several stints of zero gravity as the plane plunged up and down at nearly 30,000 feet, allowing passengers to float weightlessly in the plane cabin.

Her boyfriend took this opportunity to produce a ring, which thankfully did not float off, and to propose to an astonished Graciela. Luckily, she accepted, and the couple is planning to marry and then to spend their tenth anniversary in orbit!

12 12. In a Halo Video Game

This loving couple was fanatics of the Halo 3 video game. Knowing that his girlfriend was bound to be playing the game, one gamer made his girlfriend a Forge Map and set up a game with two other friends.

He then maneuvered his girlfriend on the screen to a place where he said they needed to visit to pick up an energy sword. As they entered the area, she spotted the words ‘Marry Me’ spelled out in weapons. The couple are now engaged and are planning their wedding once they know it won’t clash with the release of the next Halo game!

11 11. On Fire

A daredevil boyfriend decided to cash in on his friendship with a stuntman to make his proposal. He put on fire-retardant clothing to embark on a stunt that masqueraded as part of a 4th of July celebration.

He launched himself off a platform and his stuntman friend set fire to his clothing so that he was completely set alight. He jumped into a swimming pool to extinguish the flames and as he emerged from the pool, he approached his girlfriend and asked her to marry him, claiming that he was ‘on fire’ for his girlfriend. He produced a ring and she laughingly accepted.

10 10. At 20,000 Feet Before a Skydive

There are proposals and there are dramatic proposals, and this one was certainly in the category of dramatic. One couple decided to embark on a skydive and ventured up in a plane until it reached 20,000 feet and then jumped out of the plane, relying on their parachutes to see them safely to the ground.

The adrenaline of the skydive was not enough for one lovestruck boyfriend. He took the opportunity of the jump to propose to his girlfriend and popped the question just before they were set to jump out of the plane. She said yes and proudly displayed her beautiful ring as they landed on terra firma.

9 9. On a TV Ad

Having decided against proposing on the big screen at an NFL football game, US-based Rand went one step further. He rented some advertising space during the Super Bowl to make his declaration of love.

He realized he would have to raise $2.5 million to carry out his plan. Although he put his savings into the scheme, he had to set up a website to ask for donations to raise the rest of the money. He managed to raise $85,000, which was not enough. So he proposed during the ads of her favorite TV show on a local network. She said yes, so all that effort was worth it.

8 8. On Stage at a Specially Hired Theatre

Having a lot of money opens up many options for a dramatic proposal. Ukrainian tycoon Gennady Zalesky decided to use all the resources at his disposal when he embarked on his grand gesture to his soul mate, Victoria.

He rented a theatre and hired a cast and staged a performance of The Romantics with him appearing as the leading man, but disguised in a mask. As it got to the point of declaring his love for his leading lady on stage, he turned to the audience, where his girlfriend sat on a girl’s night out, and asked her if she would be his leading lady, for life. She agreed.

7 7. Using Tom Cruise

If in doubt about how to propose, why not approach a celebrity and ask them to do it for you? If you are going to choose a celebrity, you might as well choose a stellar star. That’s exactly what Joao Martins did when he decided to propose to his girlfriend, Sonia.

Martins, who worked as a cameraman, took the opportunity of meeting Cruise at a film premiere, to ask him to make the proposal as he filmed it to show to his girlfriend. As the clip was aired on TV, Joao was on the phone to Stella and she accepted his heartfelt proposal, or rather Tom’s.

6 6. On a Boat in Capri as Captured by Google Maps

Google Maps is everywhere these days, capturing all sorts of events as it maps what goes on in the world and shows Internet viewers where their desired locations are and what is going on there. This can provide some interesting insights into the everyday events of ordinary folk.

One nervous chap took his girlfriend out on a romantic boat trip off the beautiful Italian island of Capri, and Google Mapped the whole thing. He was shown around the world on one knee, dressed only in shorts and a hat, as he made his declaration of love. Unfortunately, Google Maps didn’t report the outcome of his question.

5 5. Inside a Cave

If you have a girlfriend who is mad for caving and you want to propose, it makes perfect sense to propose in a cave! This is what Englishman James did. He took his cave-mad girlfriend on a day out, while friends conspired to decorate and prepare a huge cave ready for the proposal.

As the couple arrived in the cave, fiancée to be, Anastasia, was led to a table covered with champagne and surrounded by tiny candles that lit up the cave. James then got down on one knee in the depths of the cave and was rewarded with a firm yes.

4 4. Trolltunga

Belgian Hanna Troch told her boyfriend that if he ever planned to propose to her, she wanted something dramatic. Harald Six took her at her word.

He took her to Norway, to Trolltunga, which is 2,300 feet high and juts out horizontally over Lake Ringedalsvatnet in dramatic scenery in Odda. It was there that he got down on one knee, and asked Hanna to be his wife. Nervous of her reaction, he kept her away from the edge, before lifting her up in his arms when she said yes. The whole thing was captured on film, showing the dramatic setting of the jutting rock, which is named because of its resemblance to a troll’s tongue.

3 3. Using a Dolphin

Mandy from Delaware was told by her boyfriend Mike, that he had booked a special dolphin encounter at a Baltimore aquarium. Mandy is a huge dolphin fanatic and loves to engage with them, so she was utterly thrilled at the prospect.

However, the day held more surprises for Mandy. During the encounter, a trainer signaled to one dolphin to come to him and he placed a white buoy in its mouth. Mandy was expecting a dolphin trick to be performed and could not have been more surprised when it returned to her and revealed that the buoy had a proposal message printed on it. Mandy was completely emotional, and as she turned to Mike, she found him on one knee with a ring. She couldn’t refuse that proposal.

2 2. On an Ice Rink

Some men go to great lengths to find the most surprising way to propose. One New Yorker had taken his girlfriend, Laura, to many romantic destinations around the world and dropped to his knees in front of her, only for her to find him tying his shoelaces or picking something up.

Therefore, he figured she would not expect a home-grown proposal in the Big Apple. He engineered an elaborate proposal at the Bryant Park ice rink in New York, persuading her to enter a rigged prize draw at the rink so that she was forced to claim her ‘prize’ in the middle of the rink. When she opened the envelope, she was faced not with her expected prize of show tickets, but with a romantic memento of their trips together and a boyfriend sliding towards her on the ice to propose. After all that effort, it paid off, and she said a resounding yes.

1 1. During a Beach-based Yoga Class

Yoga is known to be an ancient art that balances body and mind. Alec Horan took the opportunity of an acro yoga class on a Hawaii beach to propose to his long-term girlfriend. He didn’t get down on one knee, instead, he balanced her on his knees in an acro yoga pose. As he did so, he pulled out a ring and proposed to her, as she balanced, upside down on his knees!

Steph Gardner was hardly in a position to refuse! She cupped her hands over her mouth in shock as she bent backward over her now fiancé, and agreed to marry him.

References: TheSunBuzzfeedHitchedTheSpruceWelikeviral