A guide by A.Trendl

Know How I Successfully Proposed to a Beautiful Hungarian Woman

Romance has been maligned, abused, distorted. There's still some true love to be found if you look and wait, and carefully learn to love each other. It will pay off. The story below is about such true love.

The meal
After saying grace, we shared an appetizer of roast bobwhite quail, and bread with black olive butter. I had rack of lamb with pepper and mint puree, and she had duck breast in a huckleberry sauce. We both had a glass of Pinot Noir (a red wine). For dessert, we shared a raspberry creme brullée.

The move
After dessert, I got up to swing around and surprise her. I left the table to use the facilities, but in reality used it to sneak up from behind. I kissed her softly on the forehead, and asked her on bent knee, presenting a ring with a solitaire oval diamond. I spoke her full name, calmly, and mentioned how the last three years have been the most wonderful of my life, and if she would marry me. She was as speechless as the Honeymooners' Ralph Kramden, but without the homina homina homina.

The reply
She whispered yes with pleasant tears shining in her eyes.

The finish
The wait staff (Charles, Jaime and Shannon) was gracious, providing us each with complimentary glass of champagne with a fresh strawberry. They also brought a plate decorated with "Congratulations" written in scripted Belgian chocolate. Upon my request, they signed our menus and wrapped them in a bow, and otherwise doted on us. We were offered best wishes by all guests and staff alike as we left.

The fumble
We drove home and called her dad. It is a Hungarian custom to ask the father formally for her hand, and Aliz and I worked through what I would say, as he knows only Hungarian and I know only English. At first, because of my strong American accent, he thought I was wishing him a happy name day (something like a birthday for a person's name). His name day was the previous week. I repeated my request after Aliz stopped laughing. He said yes, and so it all became a little more official.

The follow-up
We tell my family on Thanksgiving Day when we visit. Next are various tasks involving INS and such, and so no date is set. We are hoping to get married in Budapest by a mutual friend, American pastor teaching in central/eastern Europe based there who is bilingual. It is around three hours from Pécs where she grew up and her parents and brother still live. Planning this will be a complex undertaking, and we covet any advice you might for international, multi-lingual weddings.

The castle
If everything goes as planned, it will be either at the Ráckeve Castle, or a place like it. It is near Budapest on an island in the Danube River, and was built in 1720. This might be impossible, but the dollar buys more in Hungary than in America. One can hope. :) You can find pictures of it on the web.
So much depends on the issues of visas, timing and cost.

Who?
Her name is Aliz, and together we have been managing the HungarianBookstore.com, a source for directories of Hungarian places and culture in the USA, and for Hungarian books and DVDs.

Interesting Facts
The Signature Room restaurant has been the place of many engagements, but also is where wealthy celebrities like the Dalai Lama, Mel Gibson and Kevin Costner eat. It is a lavish, sophisticated place, so its attraction to the rich and famous is no surprise, as well as to average guys like me.

'The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show: Unforgettable Performances Volume 1'

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