I proposed by making a scrapbook of our time together and at the end of the scrapbook there was a page that said “will you marry me?” with check boxes for yes and no. The “no” box was shaped like a square and the “yes” box was shaped like a ring. I handed him a pen and he checked off “yes” (but not before going through a bunch of legalism about whether or not I had jurisdiction over him– luckily I appreciate his sense of humor!)
It wasn’t a surprise because we both knew we were going to get engaged, so he had the ring with him. Interestingly enough, he is makpid that traditional proposals are too similar to kiddushin. He took out the ring, put it down and declared it hefker, and then I picked it up and put it on my finger. The whole thing was really adorable and it’s a memory that I’ll treasure forever.