While many individuals are now sharing the most intimate aspects of their lives online, most would prefer their most embarrassing or painful moments be private. With the rise of viral videos, however, your once private moments may no longer be so private. Although many of us cheer at the wonderful proposal videos released by YouTube, such as Isaac's Live Lip Dub Proposal, involving all of the couple's family and friends, some proposals are less than great, some proposals are less riveting, and at times failed. Moreover, many of these proposals unfortunately may be streamed to your closest friends and strangers.
When Sally Left Harry
While describing idiosyncrasies is effective and endearing in When Harry Met Sally, a man's attempt to be Billy Crystal crashed and burned in a mall food court as he described how he loved how his girlfriend Caroline cut her cupcake. Then he proceeds to morph into Neil Diamond and sing "Sweet Caroline" to his girlfriend. At that point, onlookers are involved and a small community has begun to root for him. The girlfriend, however, walks away after telling him that she cannot marry him. I would say he may no longer find Caroline to be quite so sweet.
Tear Me Down Buttercup
Another proposal gone bad is at the mall as well. In this video, the gentleman starts singing "Build Me Up Buttercup" and is down on his knee. Instead of being built up by his beloved, he is torn down when she says no. He proceeds to drop the ring box and walk away with his girlfriend chasing after him. Needless to say, the proposal did not build anyone up.
Frenemy?
The adage keep your friends close and your enemies closer does not apply here. Two young men decide to engage in a cruel prank involving one of their friends and his girlfriend. We are not talking about April Fool's, however. We are talking about two friends orchestrating a fake marriage proposal at Yankee's Stadium. The young men orchestrating the prank paid to have a proposal message displayed on the jumbo tron unbeknownst to their friend who has no intention of proposing. The young woman is ecstatic, says yes,and the young man stands their completely confused. After explaining he is not proposing, she slaps him and walks away--- a devastating moment for a couple. Clearly, these two morons orchestrating the prank lack the social graces to get a girlfriend they themselves can propose to and instead prey on their totally unsuspecting friend.
Fallen Angel
Before God I take you as my wife. While normally one swears their love before God at a wedding, one man chooses to propose at a music event in front of his entire church. Moreover, he is on stage, calls her an angel, proposes, and a young man moderating the event asks the girl what her response will be. The young woman rejects the young man and walks away. The song "Angel of Mine" certainly cannot apply to this young man.
Crowdsourced
In the middle of a crowd at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California, a young man with his girlfriend follows the traditional proposal script of telling her that how much he wants to be with her and proposes marriage. She does not seem to follow the script, however. Rather than accepting his proposal, the young woman runs away crying. The crowd expresses their dismay but to no avail.
Videobombing by Dog
Alone at last. Maybe not? In the woods, a man with his significant other kneels down to begin his proposal. At the same time, his dog goes berserk, runs around, and jumps in front of the camera recording his proposal. While the outcome may be unknown, man's best friend certainly ruined the moment.
The moral of the story may be that you want to be certain your significant other will say yes prior to proposing and not to propose in public places when uncertain. On Valentine's Day, we should look to YouTube for the do's and don'ts of proposing!