of the beach and luxurious accommodations.
The Viceroy offers the whole shebang. While the couple is away, hotel staff will enter the suite and scatter rose petals on the ground, the bed and in the bathtub. After dinner, a waiter will arrange to place the engagement ring inside of a dessert plate and bring out the best bottle of champagne in the house.
The cost of complete assistance from the Viceroy doesn’t come cheap, with the whole package nearing $1,000.
There is no such thing as a perfect proposal, as each woman, or man, has a different view of how they would like their big moment played out.
“Look at the mate,” Piane said. “What would mean something (special) to them.”
For sports fans, a proposal during a sporting event might seem perfect. For recreational couples, a proposal in a hot-air balloon ride or during a hiking trip might be appropriate.
For Piane, family is the most important thing in her life, and her husband, Joe Campanella, knew exactly how to incorporate them into his proposal.
Campanella first asked his future father-in-law for his daughter’s hand in marriage and received Piane’s mother’s old engagement ring.
It was at Campanella’s parents’ 50th wedding anniversary that he made his move, making a toast to his parents and introducing Piane as his future wife. Piane’s jaw dropped at the unexpected proposal.
“It was very beautiful to be asked in front of his parents,” Piane said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 14, 2007. Read the original PDF.