[Stealhead]

Personally I always have felt that a very public proposal is some what forceful like you lack the confidence so your sort of forcing the issue putting her on the spot doing it
a public setting obviously having spent money it puts an extra pressure on if you sit and think about it.

I think a true honest man confident in himself in his feelings would do a proposal privately.At the same time knowing my wife's personality if she did not want
to marry me she would have said so no matter what the situation was.She is the type that if the baby is ugly she is gonna tell the parents that its ugly I know because
of this that if my wife is still around I have not driven her nuts yet or she has much patience not that I am a bad person or abusive I just have a very complex personality.
(I suppose most people do to some extent) But a woman with a very sensitive or overly caring personality(not wishing to hurt ones feelings) this type of woman could feel pressured in a very public proposal by the desire not to want to upset the man asking.

I guess that is why so many marriages fail if both people are not fully committed its not going to last.Some people are in it from the start others grow into it.