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“Will you occupy my life?”: The latest in public proposals

It seems as though it’s no longer enough to just have a quiet moment for two involving a ring, a few carefully chosen words, and a bended knee.

Public marriage proposals, each designed to one-up the others, have taken hold as the latest “Will you marry me?” trend.

The latest of these elaborate proposals to catch our attention comes from the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York. Captured in a video that has now gone viral, protester Beezy Douglas got down on one knee in Zuccotti Park and asked his girlfriend, Deb Zep, to “occupy” his life. He “wanted to wait for a moment big enough.”

Watch the sweet moment below:

While the proposal wasn’t nearly as over-the-top as a custom movie trailer or flash mob, the man did employ the now-common Occupy Wall Street practice of using surrounding protesters to serve as a human microphone by repeating his words as a group to ensure his declaration of love could be heard by everyone around him

Some consider the public proposal a dangerous move. Sure, you’re likely to get a “yes” — although a “no” is still a potentially humiliating response — but it may come from peer pressure, not sincerity. Other critics of public proposals say that the groom is left trying to live up to the magnificent proposal for the rest of the marriage. For some couples, it might set an impossible precedent.

When did the marriage proposal become such a big ordeal? Slate traces the history of the proposal as an expression of love to the 19th century, when it became a romantic — and less pragmatic — event.

 [See also: Make sure you have lots of this before getting hitched]

Fast forward to 1978 when Todd Miller asked his wife, Terry, to marry him — with the help of the first-ever electronic billboard in New York City. The 15-second spot paid off. The Millers have seven children and have been married for over 30 years.

According to Slate, some experts cite the 1981 wedding of Princess Diana as the event that made the idea of an over-the-top romantic gesture truly popular. The nuptials’ commercialization helped launch the fairy-tale-wedding industry that could be the inspiration for the grand romantic marriage proposals that are popular today.

“It’s a confident thing to do, a big megaphone statement to the world," explains wedding etiquette expert Anna Post, great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post. “There’s some real appeal to men in that.”

Married ladies, was your proposal public? Was it sweet or overwhelming? And, single ladies, would you want him to drop to his knee in front of everyone?

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