Proposal Messages: 50+ Ways to Ask

Most people rehearse a proposal for weeks and then say something entirely different. Here are 50+ examples for the moment itself, for a written proposal, and for everything that follows.

Send the announcement afterwards in a free love ecard.

What to say in the moment

1. I have known for a long time. Will you marry me?
2. I want the rest of it with you. Will you marry me?
3. You are the best thing that has happened to me. Will you marry me?
4. I cannot imagine doing any of this without you. Marry me?
5. Every plan I make has you in it. Will you make it official?
6. I love you, and I would like to keep doing this permanently. Will you marry me?
7. There is nobody else. There was never going to be. Marry me?
8. Will you marry me? I have thought about very little else for months.
9. You make everything easier and better. Will you marry me?
10. I want to be the person you come home to for the rest of your life. Marry me?
11. Will you marry me? Say yes and I will stop shaking.
12. I choose you. Every day, and now formally. Will you marry me?

For a written proposal or letter

1. I have written this because I knew I would lose the words on the day. I love you. Will you marry me?
2. Reading this means I have finally worked up the nerve. Turn around.
3. I have thought about how to ask you for months. In the end it is simple: will you marry me?
4. You are my favourite person, my calmest place and my best decision. Will you marry me?
5. Whatever the next fifty years look like, I want to spend them with you.
6. I do not need any more time to be sure. Will you marry me?
7. This is the least surprising question I will ever ask you. Will you marry me?
8. I love you in the ordinary, everyday way that I think is the only kind that lasts. Marry me?
9. Say yes and we will work the rest out together, as we always have.
10. I would like to introduce you as my wife. Will you let me?

For a proposal card or ring box note

1. Open me.
2. One question.
3. Turn around.
4. Will you?
5. Ask me why I am nervous.
6. Same question, better ring.
7. For the rest of it.
8. Yes or no. No pressure.

Announcing it afterwards

1. She said yes!
2. He asked. I said yes.
3. We are engaged!
4. Some very good news: we are getting married.
5. It is a yes from me.
6. Engaged! Still slightly stunned.
7. We have news. Rather a lot of it.
8. Saying yes was the easiest thing I have ever done.

If you are the one saying yes

1. Yes. Obviously yes.
2. Yes — and I have known the answer for a very long time.
3. Yes! You did not need to be that nervous.
4. Of course. There was never any other answer.
5. Yes. A thousand times, and quickly, before you change your mind.
6. Yes, and thank you for asking properly.
7. Yes. Best question anyone has ever asked me.
8. Yes — now put the ring on before I cry.

Short lines

1. Will you marry me?
2. Marry me?
3. Say yes.
4. Forever, then?
5. One question, one answer.
6. I choose you.
7. Be mine, officially.
8. Will you?

How to word it

1. Say one true thing before the question. The reason is what they will remember; the question is the easy part.
2. Keep it short. Nobody has ever wished a proposal speech were longer.
3. Write it down as a backup. Most people forget their lines entirely, and a card in your pocket saves the moment.
4. Do not make it about the audience. A proposal staged for other people is a performance, not a question.
5. Be certain of the answer first. A proposal should confirm a conversation, not start one.

Send it — and pair it with a gift

A free love ecard is a good way to tell people afterwards. See also engagement wishes and I love you messages:

FAQ

What do you say when you propose?

One true sentence about why, then the question. Short and specific beats a rehearsed speech every time.

Should you write it down?

Yes, as a backup. Most people forget what they planned, and a card in your pocket means you still get to say it.

What do you write in a proposal card?

Very little. “One question” or “turn around” does more work than a paragraph.

How do you announce an engagement?

Tell close family first and privately, then share more widely. “She said yes!” is all the wording most people need.

What is a good short proposal?

“I want the rest of it with you. Will you marry me?”

Should a proposal be a surprise?

The moment can be. The decision should not — a proposal works best as the confirmation of a conversation you have already had.