pwb2103

Its time to pop that big question and my perfect plan is starting to unravel. I need some way to get my girlfriend to board a plane to Spain (from NYC), without suspecting that I'll be in Spain waiting to propose.

I thought I had it all figured out. I spoke to her boss who agreed to make up a last minute urgent business trip. My girlfriend would get handed tickets, the name of a hotel, some travel info and then off she would go. Then I would be waiting in the hotel room when she checked in. She opens the door, I'm down on one knee, everyone is happy.

Then, she got a new job with a small startup where things are run far to transparently to just make up a project. The new boss wants to help, but really, a made up business trip is just not going to work anymore.

So, now I'm struggling to find a new excuse to get her on a flight where she doesn't suspect that I'm involved. (I'm a consultant so it will be easy for me to say that my company is suddenly shipping me off to canada so I won't be around for the weekend when all of this will take place).

Does anyone have any good crafty ideas?

She loves travel and food, is already suspicious that I might propose very soon, and has said that she really wants to be surprised (which is why I can't just fly with her). So I'm hesitant to give up on this plan unless I have to.

prncess674

More than likely your GF is already expecting it so some cockamamey plan asking her boss to ship her off to spain on a moment's notice was a bit far fetched and would be hard to pull off. Why not just say you want to take a romantic trip for the weekend and you decided to blow some miles. I too work for a big consultancy and there is no way I would just board a plane with just tickets and a hotel room reservation without having some serious back story that frankly sounds like way too much work.

Helsinki Flyer

have you thought about drugging her? Rufies?

mlh1

Can you tell her you have to go to Spain for work, and you have a free companion fare or miles or something, so you want her to meet you there. Have the driver let you know when they are on the way to the hotel. When she calls to tell you that she has landed, tell her you are stuck at work and the front desk has a key for her, then when she walks in the door, propose!?

saint_em

Is there any way you could get a friend/girlfriend's sister or mum to help? Someone who can pretend they've won a trip to Spain for two and does your g/f want to go along? Obviously you would need to cover the friend's expenses, but if they get a free trip to Spain out of it I'm sure they wouldn't mind having to amuse themselves once they arrived.

This sounds like a lot of effort though...why don't you truly surprise her and just do it halfway through your friday night pizza in front of the TV (when she won't expect it, if she already thinks you're planning something big), then have a car service whisk you off to the airport (or a fancy hotel if you flew the next day)?

ale.penazzi

What about building her expectations by organizing a trip together to spain, telling her about a nice spot in a small town, bla bla bla, and then propose on the plane when she is not expecting it?

(mm.. maybe you need to burn some cash on business class or first class though...)

t325

Nah, then he'd be proposing on the roof of Caesar's Palace

squeakr

angatol

.....

pwb2103

Oh, excellent, there are a lot of good ideas popping up in here. I'm still really trying to find a way to get her out there separate from me. My company has set a standard of shipping me off to seemingly random locations on short notice so I can tell her in advance that I'm getting staffed in Canada. Then when she finds out she is going to Spain I'll tell her that I'm going to ask my boss if I can go out there too to spend the weekend with her... only to conclude that the client needs me on site.

Thats why it would have been great if her company could have made an excuse to send her out there. They put her on a last minute plane to Paris for fashion week a few months back... really wish I had had my act together and could have done it then.

These are all good inspiration though, thanks!

dcpatti

You definitely know your girlfriend better than I do, but from a woman's persepctive, mis-representing the "purpose" of a trip could backfire in so many ways that I'd not risk it. If I'm geared up for a business trip, or a family trip, my mindset is totally different than if I'm on a trip with my fella. My packed wardrobe is different. Everything's different. And while I might appreciate the romantic gesture, I will probably still be pretty annoyed by the ambush. I think it's far better to just plan the trip with her, and come up with a clever, crafty place and time to propose. Plus, unless you have a habit of randomly disappearing on her, she might figure out something's up when you disappear for the ~8 hours to fly to Spain.

If I were you, I'd look for something at your destination city that holds special meaning for you as a couple, and propose there. Later in the trip might be better; she may be expecting it on the plane or your first night there, and she'll stop focusing on it as time goes by. You can find meaningful places even if you've never been there before; if she's got a favorite artist, find a gallery or museum with some of their works, and propose in front, on your way out; if you love going to aquariums together, then that's a no-brainer. Or find a restaurant that serves her favorite meal or is named after the street you live on, etc etc. Trust me, a little creativity here can go a long way, and not have the potential negatives that a trip-with-secret-purpose might.

My Mr popped the question on a trip that we had planned together, at the first of 3 awesome cities we visited. I actually booked the airline tickets and most of the hotels (I'm the planner in the couple). And I still had no idea it was coming. He selected a stunning location where we'd had a romantic walk a few years earlier, and I was floored that he planned our day so carefully to take us past there. So it's very possible to let her be involved in the trip planning and still surprise her.

doctor15

You know here best, but if I were you I would try to work out a scenario so that you are on the plane with her. That way she is not by herself or nervous for a longhaul trip on her own.

Anyways, here is what I did for my proposal. It may not work for your specific situation due to passport issues, etc, but just an idea:

I had her parents call her and make up some excuse that they needed her to come visit them a certain weekend (for reasons that they made up but were logical). Of course, she invited me to come along, and since I book ALL of our travel, I purchased our tickets as fully refundable. Secretly, I bought a (cheaper) set of tickets on a flight departing at the same time on the same airline to our actual destination. After she checked in, I cancelled the refundable tickets to see her parents. At the airport I looked at the departures board and said "wouldn't it be great if got on this plane and went to XYZ?". When she said ya, I said "ok lets go!"

Of course the only bad part of this plan was that by the time we were seated on the plane she already knew what was coming next. If you want to pop the question right there in the airport or on the plane it might work better though.

Cattle Airlines

I would tend to favor honesty, not some elaborate scheme.

Even saying you need to go to Spain on business and will be busy but would like her to come would be surprise enough when she found out you were not so busy.

Gamecock

Send her an email telling her that some disposed African prince wants her to help in funneling his fortune back to the US, and in return for her assistance he will give her $10 million US. All she has to do is fly to Spain....

dcpatti

Except you, after she bashes you in the face with her purse because she's not expecting to find anyone lurking in the shadows when she checks into the hotel room....