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150 Ways of Proposing Marriage

After hours of careful deliberation and a few tears, judges from The Hermitage Hotel, the only Mobil Five-Star and AAA Five-Diamond hotel in Tennessee, completed the almost impossible task of selecting the winners of its best wedding proposal contest from more than 150 entries. Held primarily through the social networking program Facebook, the contest’s top prizes were free “Romance Packages,” which include a free night’s stay, breakfast for two, complimentary valet parking, and champagne and truffles.

“It was certainly a task that was as challenging as it was rewarding,” said Janet Kurtz, Hermitage Hotel director of sales and marketing. “We were blown away by the creativity, style and romance that goes into creating the perfect proposal.”

Of the five winning stories, Mindy McReynolds’ was perhaps the most unique. As a child, McReynolds’ brothers teased her that a three-toed sloth lived in her closet. As she grew older, the sloth became a running joke among her family. With this in mind, Mindy’s fiance made special arrangement to have a sloth brought to the Nashville Zoo. After spending an hour playing with and feeding her favorite animal, he proposed.

Also a winning story, Blake Powell Paxton’s winning proposal was literally a work of art. Her husband gave her an oil painting of the two of them for Christmas. With some encouragement, she took a closer look at the painting and discovered that her likeness was wearing a beautiful diamond ring. When she turned around, he was on one knee and proposed with the same ring that was portrayed in the painting.

“Though we originally intended to award just one prize, when we received such an incredible outpouring of wonderful stories, we decided to expand by awarding the Romance Package to five winners and adding runner-up and honorable mention categories with their own special prizes,” Kurtz added.

Molly Burns O’Connor was among five runners-up, each receiving a free dinner for two at the Capitol Grille. Operating under the codename, “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” O’Connor’s husband proposed on a cliff overlooking the Tennessee River at night. The couple threw two glow sticks off the cliff, which served as a signal for her husband’s friends across the river to turn on an illuminated 7′ X 25′ banner that said, “Marry Me.” After she accepted, her husband lit two candles that served as another signal for his friends to set off fireworks.

Cortland D. Joyce’s “Buried Treasure” proposal earned him an honorable mention and free Hermitage Hotel bathrobes. Joyce had a custom pearl ring made and placed it in a suede-lined clamshell box. While at the beach, he buried the box under the sand in front of where his wife was sitting. While nonchalantly pushing her feet through the sand, she discovered the tiny chest and the treasure inside. He then got down on one knee and proposed.

To read full versions of these stories, as well as the other winners and submissions, visit The Hermitage Hotel’s Facebook page by entering “The Hermitage Hotel” in Facebook’s search box. Once at The Hermitage Hotel page, click on the “Boxes” tab and view the contest’s discussion board thread. Or use this direct link: http://tinyurl.com/cn5khs.