Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
Directed by: Andy Tennant
In every girl’s dream come true, Melanie’s (Reese Witherspoon) boyfriend Andrew (Patrick Dempsey) brings her on a surprise date to a dark room. When the lights come on, Melanie is standing in Tiffany’s, after hours. Andrew asks Melanie to marry him and tells her to pick any ring she wants. Umm, the 10-carat over there please!
While You Were Sleeping (1995)
Directed by: Jon Turteltaub
Only in the movies could Lucy (Sandra Bullock), a lonely fare-token collector, meet her future husband while “engaged” to his brother. After she saves Peter (Peter Gallagher) from being hit by a train, she accompanies him to the hospital, where she’s mistaken for his fiancée. She ends up falling in love with his brother, Jack (Bill Pullman), but can’t say anything, as the family thinks she and Peter are together. After finally confessing the truth, she runs off. But in true romcom fashion, when she later reaches for the “token” a passenger has dropped in her tray, she finds an engagement ring, and Jack proposes while the family looks on.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
Directed by: David Slade
Discarding chaperoned walks and stolen kisses, vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) decides to take a bite out of life — and his wife, in the sequel — when he proposes to Bella (Kristin Stewart) with his mother’s ring.
The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)
Directed by: Robert Schwentke
Henry (Eric Bana) has a rare genetic disorder that causes him to time travel involuntarily. He falls in love with Clare (Rachel McAdams), who’s already in love with him, since she met his future self years earlier (it’s complicated). One morning, he wakes her by sliding a ring onto her finger and asking her to marry him. We know what you’re thinking: It’s about time!
Leap Year (2010)
Directed by: Anand Tucker
Anna (Amy Adams) is understandably fed up that her boyfriend still hasn’t proposed after four years. When he goes to Dublin for work, she takes matters into her own hands, following him there with plans to propose on Leap Day — an Irish tradition in which women propose on February 29. When a freak storm causes her plane to divert, Anna ends up in Cork, Ireland, where she hires Declan (Matthew Goode) to get her to Dublin. Despite their constant bickering, the pair, who end up spending unforeseeable time together, develop feelings for each other. When Anna is finally reunited with her boyfriend, he asks her to marry him, but she realizes he isn’t the one. Back in Cork with Declan, she says yes to a lifetime of happy squabbling when he proposes with his mother’s claddagh ring.
He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)
Directed by: Ken Kwapis
Beth (Jennifer Aniston) has waited seven long years for Neil (Ben Affleck) to propose, but when he tells her he doesn’t want to get married, she gives him the old heave-ho. After her father has a heart attack, Neil comes back to help, and Beth realizes she wants to be with him, even if he never proposes. The next day, she finds a pair of his old pants and is about to throw them away when Neil tells her to check the pockets first. When she does, she finds a ring and turns to see Neil on one knee. In a complete about-face, he asks her to marry him.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - September 2019. To subscribe click here.