Engaging Ideas?

Holidays bring on a flurry of engagements, particularly among celebrities, perhaps because it's the only time when their schedules calm down enough for them to spend some quality time together. Over the 2006 Christmas holiday season, afew more couples made plans to walk down the aisle each in their own special way.

One of those couples was Extreme Makeover plastic surgeon, Garth Fisher, and his girlfriend Jessica Canseco who had appeared in Playboy but is now an anesthesiologist in Beverly Hills. Garth, who divorced Rock Star: Supernova hostess Brooke Burke in 2005, and Jessica had been dating a year.

A Party Question
Garth popped the question at a holiday party hosted by Dr. 90210's Paul Nassif. In fact, Paul had introduced the couple at the same party a year earlier so it was the ideal locations for that all-important moment. Of course, the big question wouldn't be complete without a gorgeous engagement ring and Garth didn't disappoint. He presented Jessica with a 6-carat canary yellow diamond ring after she said yes.

Popping the question for the second couple was comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member, Chris Kattan. Chris and his model girlfriend, Sunshine Tutt, had been dating since 2005 after they met a friend's birthday party in Los Angeles.

An Engaging Fraud
Keeping with his humorous roots, Chris wrapped up the engagement ring in a cheap box so she wouldn't suspect what was coming. The big moment came at Sunshine's grandparents house on Christmas Eve in Gainesville, Texas. Needless to say, she was surprised and thrilled when she realized the cheap box was a fraud.

The final couple is Lisa Ling and Paul Song. While you may remember Lisa as a co-host on The View, an Oprah Winfrey Show guest, or a National Geographic Explorer correspondent, Paul's name probably won't ring a bell unless someone you know has had cancer in the Chicago area. That's because Paul is an oncologist, not a celebrity.

Lisa and Paul were introduced through friends after she ended her engagement to Phil Levine, a media entrepreneur, in 2005. For the big question, Paul flew his and Lisa's parents to Chicago and reserved a private dining room at the a nice restaurant. Everyone was present when he popped the question and heard the word every man hopes to hear from the woman he loves: Yes.

All of these couples have found a potential partner to share their futures with but what can you take away from their stories as you begin planning your own engagement?

And the Tips Are
For starters, let's talk about the reasons why the holidays are a great time for popping the question. If you believe very strongly in family and want your loved ones around you when you ask, then the holidays are a good time because your girlfriend is less likely to be suspicious. Imagine the kind of questions she'd be asking (or thinking) if you just wanted to get everyone together out of the blue. You've pretty much ruined the element of surprise.

Of course that doesn't mean you have to choose the Christmas season. You could choose your girlfriend's birthday, Thanksgiving, Easter, the Fourth of July, or any holiday where your family gets together regularly.

Heading for a Fall?
And that brings us to the idea of popping the question with an audience. All three couples became engaged in front of their family and/or friends. In the past, an audience was reserved for engagement announcements, not popping the question. Today, men want to share this moment with others. Of course, you have to be prepared for the dreaded responses: I don't know what to say, I need time to think, or I can't marry you. While those answers sting in private, they can be devastating in front of an audience. Avoid popping the question around others if you're not confident about what response you'll be getting.

If you are unsure, then consider asking the question in private then gathering your friends or family together to announce your engagement. It's safer for your ego.

Finally, we can't leave the topic of celebrity engagements without discussing the ring. Remember Garth presented Jessica with a large yellow diamond which might be confusing if you're familiar with the color-rankings of diamonds. Generally, a yellow diamond is at the low end of the scale because they aren't desirable. The rule of thumb is typically the more colorless the diamond is the better.

However, canary yellow diamonds are a big exception to that rule. These diamonds are extremely rare: only 0.1% of all known diamonds in the world fall into this category. They also have a very intense yellow color which you won't find in the flawed colored stones you're usually advised to avoid. Curious about how much Jessica's 6-carat canary diamond is worth? Well, let's just say that an engagement ring with a 5/8 carat canary diamond cost just over $1,300. For us ordinary people, a canary diamond is probably out of our budgets, at least if you want to get your girlfriend one that's going to be visible on her finger. In our price range, you want to avoid the yellow coloring.

Hopefully, you now have a few more ideas about how to get engaged. You might not be able to fly in all of the families or buy a huge, rare diamond engagement ring, but you can make the moment as special as possible for the love of your life.