Staged Your Proposal? Congrats, Narcissist

Bella Mackie would rather you be subtle, because 'nobody really cares'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 18, 2015 1:59 PM CDT
Staged Your Proposal? Congrats, Narcissist
   (Shutterstock)

Plenty were left dewy-eyed by Matthew Dick's marriage proposal to his girlfriend, spelled out in a paper’s crossword puzzle this week. One who wasn’t: Bella Mackie. "While it's always nice to know that people want to declare their love so publicly," she writes at the Guardian, "there does seem to be a certain level of narcissism in the public proposal." For example, most viral videos of said proposals tend to focus almost entirely on the groom—like this one. "Bodes well for the next 65 years," Mackie quips. But more than that, all these overly creative ways of proposing just take "something away from the moment when you actually do it."

"Is being accosted on a red carpet by a man on a horse (and I am not just throwing out ideas here) really the way you want to begin the journey?" she asks. If for some reason you think that sounds fabulous, then consider that other than "about five other people in the world … nobody else really cares" about how you get engaged. (YouTube view counts say differently.) Mackie's suggestion: Pop the question without a crazy idea, friends, strangers, performers, or a camera and create "a happy and intimate moment, a story just for the two of you." An added bonus: "If your partner says no, at least it won't be on YouTube for the rest of your life." Click for Mackie's full piece. (More marriage proposal stories.)

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