Have you ever thought of hiring a personal chef for the occasion, but gave up the idea because you feared it would be too expensive?
Picture you and your girlfriend having a romantic dinner, away from noisy restaurant crowds, with a bottle of champagne (not just sparkling wine, which is not made in Champagne area in France), savoring a sumptuous dinner for two.
You want to make her feel like a princess before you pop that all-important question, “Will you marry me?”

Why hire a personal chef?
How much will it cost?
It may not be nearly as expensive as you think. Are you willing to pay roughly $180 for a once-in-a-lifetime occasion?
If you consider the cost of a special dinner at an exquisite restaurant, with a bottle of champagne, a bottle of red wine, and the extra cost of a private room or the best table at the restaurant, it could easily add up to over $200.

A personal chef will cook your girlfriend’s favorite meal, or perhaps you would prefer to choose from the chef’s customized menu. Best of all, this will give you the freedom and peace of mind to focus on proposing to her without worrying
about what other people may think of you as you go down on one knee to present the perfect engagement ring when you ask her to marry you.

Where can you find a personal chef, and how much will it cost?

Finding a qualified personal chef is as simple as checking with the USPCA (United States Personal Chef Association), which can provide you with general information on personal chefs as well as a directory of USPCA members in your area. If you live in Canada, the CPCA (Canadian Personal Chef
Alliance) can provide you with the necessary information.

For a couple, the price for such a meal would be in the range of $175 and up, depending on how many entrees and side dishes you want to include in the dinner.
Given what champagne and wine cost at a restaurant (at least twice what the price would be at a wine store), you can either save money or spend the same amount for upgraded champagne or wine.

To make more out of the luxurious dinner, create a specially written menu that includes the date. Moreover, keeping the bottles or the labels from the bottles will give you a tangible keepsake from the night of the proposal, in addition to the memories themselves. Serving the same brand (chateau) and year of champagne
or wine on your wedding anniversary may well rekindle love’s fire, in later years.

The proposal does not need to involve major surprises or gimmicks, as long as it is romantic and memorable.

Have you ever read romance novels? The characters and situations in such novels are often quite similar, and you might wonder why many women read them.
The answer: these books are about love and romance, and so they have no need for flashy effects like gun fights or exploding buildings. Quite a few men also read the romantic novels, and they know that being “predictable” can be a wonderful thing when you’re creating a romantic situation for this very special occasion.

He keeps saying you are the right woman for him but two years down the line there is no marriage proposal. You keep wondering why he has not popped the question, yet each time you threaten to leave he pleads and begs you not to go. Your patience is running out and you would like to know why he is not proposing. There could be several reasons as to why he is not doing so. Men are interesting creatures and just like women there are some men who fear commitments. You could argue that the two of you are in a committed relationship but fact is they view getting married as more commitment than having a girlfriend. To them, marriage is about accounting to every little thing they do to you for are a part of them.The man could not be making a marriage proposal because he is not yet prepared in terms of findances to enter into a marriage institution. Marriage involves a lot of things that if a man is not yet financially stable he will not propose. Recently I overheard a conversation between a son and a mother, the son was telling his mother that he was too busy the previous day that he could not find time to eat. The mother then told him to find himself a wife and the answer that came out actually amused me. He told his mother he was not ready to have a wife because he was not yet ready financially. Even if you think you are going to chip in financially and help your mate in the running of the household, your boyfriend could be thinking he has to have enough to take care of you and later the children. If he does not, the proposal will not becoming very soon.If the two of you are of the same age, most probably you are thinking of getting married while he is still thinking of having a little fun before he finally settles down. He still has so many years while your biological clock is already giving you some warnings that if you do not get yourself a baby now you might just as well adopt or have a surrogate mother do it for you. A man would still be fertile in his old age and have a baby of his own. Maybe it is time you did yourself a favor and left him because most probably a marriage proposal may not be forth coming unless you talked about it.You might not be getting a marriage proposal because he is scared of rejection. No matter how sure he is about you, he could be scared that if he popped the question you might say no. You should try to find out from him in a tactful way what is going on. Men do not also want to worry about the day they will be walking down the aisle. This day has got a lot of preparations and a lot of things to do that they would rather not. If this is what is worrying your man, a proposal might never come from his end, you should do him a favor and propose to him yourself and tell him you will take care of everything else.

So the day is coming, you are preparing yourself to ask that one special person to be your partner for life. This is it! This is the moment they will remember forever when they think back on their marriage; the all important proposal! You want this to be a special, magical and romantic marriage proposal. So what are the options? How can you make this day one to remember and blow her away with your ingenuity and charm? Well looking through lists of other peoples romantic marriage proposals is not going to give you something original and unique is it. You need to go deeper than that and create something special for just the two of you and using these 5 marriage proposal tips you can find that perfect idea!1. Know your partner!

This should be obvious but it seems so many people completely ignore who their partner is and what drives them. If you are going to be married you need to know this person deeply. Doing something clichéd, inappropriate or too left field is just not going to be memorable. Some great ideas can still be great ideas but they might be for a different person not your partner to be! Make sure this is for your partner … not for you!2. Money is not that important!

While an elaborate schemes and expensive settings can involve vast sums of money that is not what is important. Just hiring limos, paying for expensive meals or something along those lines will not impress a woman as much as something that comes from the heart and is original and has meaning between the two of you. While your proposal might involve lots of money make sure it is money spent doing the right things and remember that a great proposal can be done very cheaply!3. Be unique!

While most things under the sun have been done it is best not to do something so overdone it is now a cliché like the ring in the champagne glass or something similar. Also do not copy something that your partner will know has been done before that is just common sense. Even if you do want something traditional or are using an idea you have read about make sure there is a twist in it to set it apart and always remember rule number one!4. Be creative!

Remember when you were a kid and you made that card for your mother out of stuff from around the house and it was the best damned card she ever got and keeps reminding you of it? That is not just a mothers love it is a genuine show of appreciation for making something with your own talents and most of all with your love. The same can apply to your marriage proposal because something that you have created be it a situation or something solid the fact you created it just for them from your own wits and hands is more important.5. Don’t get carried away!

There is a temptation in all this to go so overboard with ideas that the entire affair can be just too much. Also the more complicated something is the more chance things will go wrong. Just as money is not the most important thing neither is complexity! A simple idea done well and with love can be much more effective than an amazing theatrical show!

So there are the 5 tips to make a great romantic marriage proposal! Were you expecting great stories of romantic marriage proposals you could get inspiration from maybe? Well there are plenty of sites that do that but if you really want to impress your significant other you need to make sure the core of your idea follows these 5 steps! Good luck!

Marriage on your mind? She’ll be telling the story of how you proposed to friends and strangers for the rest of her life, so tailor make sure it’s memorable.

How the idea for A Message in a Bottle came about.My then partner Martin and I were on holiday in the Maldives, and one evening after a beautiful candle lit romantic dinner, we were taking a slow stroll along by the ocean back to our hut, when he said he could see something on the shore.He walked over, bent down and picked up a bottle which he said looked like it had a piece of paper inside, and wondered if it was a long lost message from someone stranded on one of the many other island’s nearby.I was so excited to see what could be written on it, Martin handed it to me and said for me to open the bottle, so I pulled out the cork and unravelled the paper.

“I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, WILL YOU MARRY ME”.I looked at Martin and he said, “Well, will you” I cried and said yes, yes of course I will.It was the most romantic moment, and it is something I will remember for the rest of my life.Martin has since become my husband.After telling so many people how we become husband and wife, and what a great idea it was, I tried to find a similar idea on the internet, and to my surprise at the time, there wasn’t, so that’s how it all came about nearly three years ago.So if you are looking for an inspiring gift then the message in a bottle is just for you…Ordering could not be easier, just select the gift option you want and select whether you would like to add anything extra such as chocolates, a teddy bear, pot pourri, a rose, or champagne. Send us the recipient’s name, Send us the message and we will do the rest.

We believe that the presentation of our gifts makes us stand out from the rest. We pride ourselves on the dedication and detail that goes into the quality of our products. Customer satisfaction is paramount to us here at A Message in a Bottle. If you have any comments, suggestions or any questions then please do not hesitate in contacting us, we would love to hear from you.