Guys, we are going to make a lot of mistakes in life, but there are some that we really should try to avoid. One in particular is with the marriage proposal. This is one of the defining moments in your life, as you start the official process of leaving your single life behind and committing to be with one special person for the rest of your days and mistakes here may be more costly than you know. So, to help you a bit, I will give you some advice that is almost as important as how to make it work out well. Take the next few minutes to learn of things that are sure-fire items NOT TO DO. The following list details some of the worst things in planning or carrying out a proposal that can often have disastrous outcomes, so they should usually be avoided.

i. Ask someone to marry you, when you are not sure they will say “Yes.”The ultimate rejection, extreme embarrassment for both of you, or a false “Yes” that can lead to a destruction of the relationship.

ii. Asking someone to marry you just because they want you to.If this is really not something that you want to do, you are just contributing to the divorce rate statistics. Do I really have to explain, just how many other things can go wrong?

iii. Trying to exactly duplicate what you read in a book or saw on television for a proposal.Two women don’t like to walk into a party with the same dress; why would they want to have something even more special “just alike?”

iv. Engagement ring placement. Trying to be clever in hiding the engagement ring may lead to it being lost, stolen, swallowed, or worse. I am not saying that the ring can’t be hidden, but special care should be taken to avoid costly results or a trip to the emergency room (ER).

v. Wrong Public Places. There are good public places and bad ones. Some of the especially poor choices involve a lot of noise and/or major distractions. This moment should be able to command attention and be a focus. If in doubt of whether your spectacle can shine in the given place, you may want to reconsider.

vi. Ring Choice. If you have no idea about her ring preferences, find out or purchase it from a reputable establishment with an appropriate return policy (see: BLUE NILE, INC ). If you get a “great deal” on a ring that she may not like and you can’t return, it really is not a “great deal.”

vii. Bad Timing. You have it set in your mind and your plan has been developed of when you would like to propose. Well, don’t be so inflexible that you go forward when the timing encounters a snare or is immediately after a tragic or extremely disappointing event. Sometimes you have to re-schedule things, even a proposal.

viii. Waiting too long. The saying, “don’t wait too long or you may miss out on a good thing,” is true. Many women report that they ‘would’ have married a person from their past, if he had asked prior to her moving on. Don’t be a ‘would’ from her past and if you feel that it is something that you would regret (not because she wants you to, but it is something that would be good for you), move forward.

ix. Stumbling over the words. You don’t have to be a professional speaker by any means, but it is nice to get at least four words out smoothly. Not rehearsing them out loud may lead to something convoluted coming out. You want her to ask you to repeat your words from shock, not from some odd jargon that came out of your mouth.

x. Ignoring customs and tradition

Just because you may not think that certain items are important does not mean that she or her family don’t. If there are certain expectations, like asking her father’s permission or others, you should be attentive to these. After all, you are about to join their family and you should not get off to the wrong start. Please understand that there are MANY other things NOT TO DO, but we hope that you get the message and it should be enough to give you some ‘food for thought’ in the process of planning for your marriage proposal. Keep in mind that you do not want to ADD anything to this list, so be aware of anything that may be in your plans that could have easily been on this list.