Would you say I do to a $200,000 wedding proposal?

O nce upon a time a wedding proposal was a private moment: two people, one ring, a declaration of love delivered on one knee and, with any luck, a positive response. The location may have been glamorous, maybe the top of the Eiffel Tower for a bit of drama to seal the memory. There may even have been some element of surprise, a ring hidden in a choux pastry bun for instance.

But the engagement was always meant to be the quiet bit — it was afterwards that the fanfare began. That was how things used to be. The modern proposal is an entirely different beast.

These days an engagement is a meticulously planned performative event, a grand affair that is as much a part of the wedding sequence as the bridal shower and hen/stag parties. These proposals are about spectacle as well as sentiment, featuring extravagant settings and jaw-dropping displays of affection, with a crowd to witness the event..