I spent five months working with a jeweler on sourcing a stone (she wanted a radiant cut canary yellow diamond) and designing the ring. By the time that was done, I was so excited I plopped down on one knee and asked her amidst the dust bunnies on her apartment floor while she was packing an overnight bag. She passed her PhD qualifying exam the same day, so I think it was a bit too much to take in all at once.
Anyhow, we're getting married in October. :-) If I could do it over, I'd ask on the beach at sunset. I'm in sunny (when not cloudy, smoggy, or smokey) California, though, where beaches and sunsets are plentiful. Symbolically, a sunrise might make more sense, but that calls for Yosemite Valley or somewhere equally majestic. She prefers the beach.
