Places to Propose

By Lisa Codianne Fowler
Published: March 13, 2008
Last Updated On: July 25, 2011

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Beaches

Romance

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Cocoa Beach

Florida Keys

Orlando

Palm Beach

Sanibel Island

Captiva Island

Ponte Vedra Beach

Cocoa

Cabbage Key

Are you a hopeless romantic looking for the perfect sunset proposal? Or does your quirky streak have you seeking something usual to help you pop the question? Here are some suggestions for the most romantic and unusual places to propose in Florida.

You've gotten the ring... and the courage. Now, it's time to pop the question. There's just one minor detail: Where should you do it?

The question, "Will you marry me?" should be asked in an achingly romantic spot. It must be magical, memorable and most importantly, mandate a "Yes!" In Florida, the odds are in your favor. Every section of the Sunshine State is spilling over with sensuous scenarios sure to elicit success. Here are just a few:

Have a dolphin do it. Discovery Cove in Orlando can have a buoy personalized with your proposal delivered by a dolphin, along with a video recording or photographs of the special moment.

Pop the cork and the question with your heads in the clouds, on a heavenly hot air balloon ride. Blue Water Balloons in Orlando offers a champagne toast flight. What a way to spend the day!

Have a dolphin do it. Discovery Cove in Orlando can have a buoy personalized with your proposal delivered by a dolphin, along with a video recording or photographs of the special moment.

Create your own fairytale at Walt Disney World. While you're holding hands over dinner at Victoria and Albert's at the Grand Floridian, the concierge will arrange to carpet your hotel room in rose petals. Charter a glass coach to the wedding pavilion, where a violinist adds ambience and a photographer forever preserves your proposal on film. Afterwards, watch fireworks from your chariot before returning to a heart-fluttering floral fantasy. Other ideas are taking your beloved to Cinderella's Royal Table inside the castle or chartering the 48-foot Sea Ray "Grand 1" Yacht to watch the nightly fireworks.

Discover the keys to romance. Florida Yacht Charters & Sales, Inc. offers romantic sails through the Florida Keys, complete with culinary-skilled captains to help couples cast away their cares. There's nothing more sensual than the gentle lapping of waves against the hull.

Traditions live on for a reason. You won't go wrong with an intimate, candlelit dinner and dance, especially at the sexy Leopard Lounge in The Chesterfield Hotel. It's located just off Worth Avenue in glamorous Palm Beach, where you are sure to find the perfect bauble to bedazzle your betrothed.

Fan the flames of romance at The Lodge & Club at Ponte Vedra Beach. The "Stir the Fire" package is sure to melt your hearts. Begin the evening with a sumptuous candlelit dinner on your oceanfront balcony; feed each other decadent desserts in your whirlpool bath, then cuddle up fireside with a glass of champagne. Who knows? She might discover a diamond at the bottom of her bubbly.

Propose under a canopy of stars. After an exhilarating day of fishing, hiking or kayaking, relax by a crackling campfire and let the wilderness work its magic. There are hundreds of beautiful state parks throughout Florida to pop the question. (www.floridastateparks.org)

St. Augustine is hauntingly romantic. Start with a champagne sunset cruise on a tall ship, saunter with spirits of the night on a ghost tour and take a horse and carriage ride back to a charming Victorian-era bed and breakfast inn. America's oldest city is dripping with history, and it's a lovely locale to create some of your own.

A dollar says she (or he) will accept. Particularly if the dollar is among the quarter of a million's worth on display at Cabbage Key's rustic island bar. Instead of autographing it like hundreds before you, pen your proposal before taping it to the wall. Cabbage Key is a fun stop on an island hop. Visit popular Sanibel and Captiva, or cruise to lesser-known North Captiva, a remote island with crushed shell roads and no cars. Accessible only by boat, it is the consummate blend of wild, natural beauty and catered comfort. The North Captiva Island Club offers vacation rentals with resort amenities, and even accepts pooches.

Share a romantic seaside picnic and surprise her with a sparkling ring tucked in a seashell, or soar above the shore in a bi-plane or helicopter, where the vista below reveals "Marry me" carved in silky white sand. Sip champagne at sunset, and express your undying love as the embers of the golden orb extinguish beyond the horizon. With 1,260 miles of coastline and waters ranging from emerald green to midnight blue, Florida's beaches present a panoply of aqueous settings for a picture-perfect proposal.