Vik told me that his girlfriend, Jill, absolutely loves three things: anything French (including fries?), wine (my kinda girl) and penguins. Yes, the last one made me scratch my head a bit too, but I thought, let's go with it. And so we did.
Since Vik and Jill's families live near Philadelphia, we decided to keep the proposal in the vicinity so they could all celebrate the engagement together later that day. Luckily, Philadelphia is (fun fact alert) the birthplace of America's first zoo and home to more than 1300 animals, including -- you guessed it -- penguins. Best of all, the Zoo offers guests a rare opportunity to "adopt" select animals through a special program, which allows private meet and greets with their "pet."
Vik jumped at the idea since it was the perfect ruse. Vik and Jill first took a walk around the Zoo and then decided to check out the Penguins Exhibition while they were "conveniently" the only visitors there. During the private meet and greet tour, the Zookeeper was sure to share some interesting (yet true!) facts about penguins, including these three specific ones:
Right as the Zookeeper made the third point, Vik pretended to look around on the ground for the “best rock” by saying, “So you mean that if I were a penguin and wanted to be paired up with Jill for life, I would have to present her with a rock like this?” (And yes, that diamond rock was actually placed inside a real rock!)
Later that evening, Jill and Vik headed over to Han Dynasty, their favorite local restaurant, for (another) surprise celebration with their families. As a final nod to Jill's love for penguins, we set the table with this custom place card. And just like that, another couple started their happily ever after.
Whether you're a hopeless romantic or just plain hopeless, contact Ever After Proposals to see how we can help give you creative, personalized marriage proposal ideas, bring them to life and make you shine as brightly as the ring on her hand.
Since Vik and Jill's families live near Philadelphia, we decided to keep the proposal in the vicinity so they could all celebrate the engagement together later that day. Luckily, Philadelphia is (fun fact alert) the birthplace of America's first zoo and home to more than 1300 animals, including -- you guessed it -- penguins. Best of all, the Zoo offers guests a rare opportunity to "adopt" select animals through a special program, which allows private meet and greets with their "pet."
Vik jumped at the idea since it was the perfect ruse. Vik and Jill first took a walk around the Zoo and then decided to check out the Penguins Exhibition while they were "conveniently" the only visitors there. During the private meet and greet tour, the Zookeeper was sure to share some interesting (yet true!) facts about penguins, including these three specific ones:
- They are monogamous.
- Both the male and the female share incubation and chick rearing, meaning both male and female take turns sitting on the egg and they both care for the young.
- Male Gentoo penguins search through piles of pebbles to find the smoothest, most perfect one to present as a gift. If the female approves, she will put it in her nest and they become a pair. Males will even fight over the best rock.
Right as the Zookeeper made the third point, Vik pretended to look around on the ground for the “best rock” by saying, “So you mean that if I were a penguin and wanted to be paired up with Jill for life, I would have to present her with a rock like this?” (And yes, that diamond rock was actually placed inside a real rock!)
Later that evening, Jill and Vik headed over to Han Dynasty, their favorite local restaurant, for (another) surprise celebration with their families. As a final nod to Jill's love for penguins, we set the table with this custom place card. And just like that, another couple started their happily ever after. Whether you're a hopeless romantic or just plain hopeless, contact Ever After Proposals to see how we can help give you creative, personalized marriage proposal ideas, bring them to life and make you shine as brightly as the ring on her hand.
