Written By Patricia Bianca
It was a lovely sunny day in North Dakota when an enterprising pilot pointed out a disturbance in a soybean field below to his beloved, who was sitting next to him in the cockpit. It wasn’t the latest crop circle, however. Spelled out in the field was a question:
“KATIE, WILL YOU MARY ME?”
Katie said “yes,” and as long as the pilot can fly better than he can spell, the two should be very happy together. But one need not be a pilot, or a soybean farmer, to concoct a special proposal scheme. Learn from the originality displayed by some of Carroll County’s true romantics in some of the county’s most romantic locations:
Joan Bradford, proprietor of the Yellow Turtle Inn in New Windsor, can easily be called the romance maven of Carroll County. Her historic inn has a sweetly innocent air of romance about it and has served as the setting for countless weddings and proposals. Joan, herself, has helped many a would-be groom surprise his intended with the perfect proposal.
One couple had been visiting the Yellow Turtle Inn for five years before the young man worked up the nerve to finally pop the question. Luckily for him, his amiable hostess had already found out his girlfriend’s ultimate fantasy – to be proposed to in a field of daisies.
“It was cold at the time, and there was no way I could get daisies everywhere outside,” recalled Joan. “So I filled a room with daisies and candlelight and then they came for a private catered dinner.”
At the proper moment, Joan excused herself on an errand, inviting the couple to look around as they pleased with the exception of one room, which was prepared “for someone special.” After she left, the young man coaxed his girl to peek into the forbidden room, where she found her field of daisies aglow with candlelight. A clearing in the middle of the room revealed a pillow on the floor, where our swain got down on one knee and fulfilled his lady’s fantasy.
“She was waiting for five years for that proposal, and it was memorable,” said Joan.
Joan used blank puzzle pieces to make another couple’s dream come true. On each piece, she wrote out clues to where the young man, and the next course of dinner, could be found and presented it to the young lady in a lovely little box. The last puzzle piece led her to a teddy bear dressed as a knight in shining armor bearing an engagement ring and a puzzle piece asking for her hand in marriage. She had always thought of her young man as her knight in shining armor.
“There’s always some sort of fantasy going on,” said Joan.
Clues played a big role in another memorable proposal at the Wood’s Gain Bed & Breakfast in Linwood. That time, the clever young man sent his beloved on a scavenger hunt that had her revisiting all the areas in Carroll County where she had grown up, including her old elementary school.
“He had preset all these envelopes at different locations throughout the county,” said Stephen Kerkam, the proprietor of Wood’s Gain. Her final clue led her to Wood’s Gain where Kerkam played dumb for the bride-to-be and asked her to wait in the parlor. There, her fianc was already on bended knee, ring at the ready.
“That was very memorable,” said Kerkam, “because we had an opportunity to play a part in it, which was sort of fun. She was very surprised, no question about it.”
Although proposals often occur in places like country inns, they are usually more of an intimate, simple affair. The planned, creative type of proposal, however, does seem to make a statement.
“The young man put a lot of thought and effort into it, which maybe says that he’ll put a lot of thought and effort into his marriage,” said Kerkam.
Almost all of Carroll’s country inns can boast at least a few proposals, but many suitors choose to pop the question at some of our more romantic restaurants. Siavash Ayrom, Restaurant Manager at Taneytown’s elegant Antrim 1844 country inn said that his establishment hosts an average of five or six proposals a month. Most are simple, low-key affairs, but Ayrom recalls a few at which the ring was presented in a champagne glass or a large, ripe strawberry. One such proposal included a rather large diamond. “That’s pretty impressive,” said Ayrom, “that somebody would trust a five-carat diamond to a server and expect it to show up in a glass with dessert!”
Of course, the diamond made it safely to the intended’s finger. The enthusiastic servers at Antrim 1844 are all too swept up in the romance of such occasions to get greedy.
“Whenever there’s a proposal, all the servers are buzzing about it,” said Ayrom. “They want to know did it happen and did she say yes. You can see it in the men’s eyes, because before proposing, they’re nervous, sweating, and they get up from the table two or three times before proposing. Afterwards, you can see that there’s a big weight lifted off their shoulders. They’re happy and smiling.”
Westminster’s Paradiso Restaurant is another setting for romantic proposals. Proprietor June Romeo reveals that they, too, have placed rings in champagne glasses or on dinner plates, or even among the flowers on the table. They’ve also written the all-important question out on the plate with sauce.
“We’ve never had anybody say no,”said Romeo. “They always say yes and usually the whole restaurant will clap and everyone gets involved. I guess there are still some romantics around.”
In fact, every enclave of romance in the county claims to be batting a thousand when it comes to marriage proposal acceptance. Could it be the fresh air or the pastoral views?
In analyzing the more memorable marriage proposals that have taken place here in Carroll County and around the world, a few common components are evident:
Preparation: All the young men in question went to some lengths to prepare for the moment, from the gentleman who left clues all over the county to the men who are wise enough to involve restaurant management in their plans.
Personalization: Most of the memorable marriage proposals we came across utilized the fantasies and special interests of the intendeds to pop the question. One young man took advantage of his beloved’s tendency to save every stray animal she encountered. He made it appear that a stray puppy had followed him onto her porch. When she picked up the puppy, a ring and marriage proposal were attached to his collar.
Understand your loved one’s preferences before planning that public proposal, too. Is she really the type who would want a proposal emblazoned on a large billboard for the whole world to see? Or would she prefer a quiet, traditional moment on her mother’s porch swing?
Pampering: It is a good idea to precede your proposal with a fine meal, a romantic weekend at a country inn or some other type of enjoyable activity that sets the mood and shows a heightened level of caring.
“Romance experts” around the county also offer the following general advice to those planning their own romantic leaps of faith:
K.I.S.S., or Keep it Simple, Stupid! “The more simple it is, the less chance of anything going wrong because you are relying on someone’s actions who may not be in on the plan,” said Antrim’s Siavash Ayrom.
Do Your Homework: Find out your lady’s taste in jewelry and her finger size before buying the ring.
“You’ve got two issues,”said Kelly Crum, proprietor of Sykesville’s Inn at Norwood. “One, the women don’t necessarily like the style, and, two, the ring doesn’t fit. Not fitting is not a big deal, but most girls don’t want to give the ring back for a day or a week to get it resized. Meanwhile, have to live with the style the rest of your life, so if she doesn’t like it, it’s a hard thing to live with.”
Pick a Perfect Setting: Couples tend to remain attached to the place where the memorable question and answer took place, returning time and time again throughout their marriage.
“A lot of them come back for their wedding night and then each anniversary thereafter,” said Kelly Crum at the Inn at Norwood. “Most of them stay in the same room where they spent their first night together, too.”
Seek Assistance: All the world loves a lover, especially when he’s about to propose. Friendly assistance can help take the heat off a prospective groom at the right moment. And there are those, like the Yellow Turtle Inn’s Joan Bradford, who can help you plan out the entire proposal.
“There are a lot of romantic men out there, and then there are men who need a little help,” she says. “That’s when I step in and help guide them throughout the whole thing. I make a lot of men look good.”
Whichever way you choose to propose, all of the experts agree, make it special. “She will remember everything he did and will tell the story until the grandchildren come!” said Joan.
And that probably includes words misspelled in soybean fields.
