In my first blog I introduced myself, my husband and our wedding company - Gallery of Love. Our intent with these postings is to offer helpful wedding planning products, website reviews, gift ideas and for those bargain hunters out there - sales and specials! (We are admitted shop-a-holics and love to find deals on food, travel and entertainment - as we find great sites we'll be happy to pass along the deals).

In addition to reviewing bridal products, anniversary gifts and baby shower ideas, we also want this to be a forum for brides to swap ideas and discuss what's working (and what's not) as you plan your BIG DAY.

Also, I LOVE stories of how couples met and great marriage proposal tales. Did your sweetie pop the question on t.v. like the National Guardsman who proposed to his girlfriend on the NBC's Today Show http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/?ta=y this morning? Anyone have their proposal put up on the big screen at a ball game ? Did your guy go over the top or was it simply a tender moment between the two of you?

When my husaband Joel proposed it was a combination of sweet, tender and surprising. I call the story....

“HIRING” A SPOKESBEAR

My husband popped the question to me by having a stuffed bear do all the talking! Yup, he searched until he found a bear that had a recorder built into it then spoke into the bear’s paw to record his proposal. He later told me that he re-wrote and re-recorded his proposal 20 times!

As he handed me the bear he softly said, “push his paw.” I thought maybe the teddy would play a tune; never expecting that this toy would change my life! I think that I may have stopped breathing as the sweet words of my beloved’s voice filled the air. I pressed the recording over and over again barely believing what I heard!

The only downside to this occurred months later when, in an effort to cheer me up after I lost my job, my sweetie grabbed the bear from its place of honor and said, “look everything’s still o.k. listen to this!” He enthusiastically pressed the bear’s paw ready for the cherished words to work their magic. Then….nothing….no sound! “Ack!” I said sounding like a “Cathy” cartoon. “You erased my proposal!” I said mortified. Sure enough Joel had pushed the wrong paw, the one for "record" instead of play, thereby erasing everything! “Oh my God!” I said, “replace it! Tape it again!”

“I’ll write it over and do it even better this time!” he said. “No, you have to use the same words the same everything!” I insisted. It definitely was a memorable proposal!

Anyone out there want to share their proposal story?