百慕大一位雄心勃勃的男士想尽办法寻找最有创意的求婚方式，但今年《纽约时报》收到的标准的令人难忘的求婚故事发生在中央公园(Central Park)。
While an aspiring groom in Bermuda went to great depths to find the most creative way to ask his girlfriend to marry him, the benchmark for memorable proposals submitted to The New York Times this year was set in Central Park.
2015年《纽约时报》誓言栏目(Vows)收到了其他很多真诚热情的求婚故事，比如在曼哈顿的热带岛屿天堂求婚，又如，休斯敦的一位男士带着医生女友在Whole Foods超市的一条通道上购物完毕后，突然向她问道：“你愿意嫁给我吗？”
There were many other fevered pitches from the heart that the Vows pages of The Times learned of in 2015, including one proposal made on a tropical island paradise in Manhattan, and another successfully performed on a doctor in Houston, whose boyfriend asked “Will you marry me?” after walking her down the aisle — of a Whole Foods supermarket.
人们经常选择在假期求婚——有一位男士在乘坐热气球在佛蒙特州上空飘浮时求婚——所以现在是回顾过去12个月中最动人的求婚故事的好时候。
That age-old question, which one of our grooms asked in a hot-air balloon as it sailed high above Vermont, is often posed during the holiday season. So now is a good time to review 10 of the most engaging stories of the last 12 months.
比安卡·里奥和伊万·沙博诺(Bianca Reo and Ivan Charbonneau)
Bianca Reo and Ivan Charbonneau
2014年7月，里奥以为自己是陪男友沙博诺去百慕大进行为期两天的商务旅行。到达酒店后，沙博诺带着一个箱子独自离开，说箱子里是商务会议上提案用的文件。实际上，箱子里有一枚订婚戒指，一些钓鱼线和一个他从5岁起珍藏的木制玩具宝箱。
Mr. Charbonneau proposed in July 2014 in Bermuda, where Ms. Reo thought she was accompanying him on a two-day business trip. After they arrived at their hotel, he left on his own, carrying a box full of what he described to her as copies of a presentation for a business meeting. Inside the box was an engagement ring, some fishing wire and a wooden toy treasure chest that he had cherished since he was 5.
他带着宝箱乘出租车来到Tucker’s Point，那里有个朋友帮他把藏着戒指的宝箱固定到重物上，沉到离岸边约27米的潜水点。（他的朋友答应留下来看箱子。）
Treasure in hand, he took a cab to Tucker’s Point, where he met a friend who helped attach the treasure chest, the ring hidden inside, to a weight. They then sank it about 30 yards out in the surf. (The accomplice agreed to stay behind to guard it.)
一小时后，沙博诺返回酒店，向里奥提议在晚餐前去Tucker’s Point浮潜。到那儿以后，他带着里奥游向藏戒指的地点。
An hour later, Mr. Charbonneau returned to the hotel and suggested to Ms. Reo that they go snorkeling at Tucker’s Point before dinner. Once there, they swam along a route that took them right over the hidden ring.
里奥发现宝箱后有点迷惑，拿着它跳出水面，打开以后发现一颗闪亮的钻石。
Ms. Reo, a bit confused after finding the treasure chest, bounced up to the surface holding it in her hands, and opened it to find a sparkling diamond.
里奥说，“我特别惊喜。”她亲吻沙博诺，然后把他扑倒到浪花里。
“I was in shock,” said Ms. Reo, who kissed Mr. Charbonneau before tackling him into the waves.
2015年7月18日，他们结婚了。
They were married on July 18, 2015.
朱莉叶·金斯伯格和李·基施鲍默(Julie Ginsburg and Lee Kirschbaum)
Julie Ginsburg and Lee Kirschbaum
2013年11月，在中央公园管理委员会(Central Park Conservancy)的一次慈善活动上，金斯伯格对基施鲍默说，她一直很喜欢中央公园长椅上的献词，希望将来有一把椅子是献给自己的。当晚，他对她承诺说，如果她愿意跟他一起参加一系列公路赛，他会为她认捐一条长椅，她同意了。
In November 2013, while at a benefit for the Central Park Conservancy, Ms. Ginsburg mentioned to Mr. Kirschbaum that she had always loved the dedications on the benches in Central Park and hoped to have one someday. That night, he promised her a bench if she returned the favor by joining him in a series of road races, and she obliged him.
2014年8月，当她在魁北克Mont-Tremblant完成铁人三项比赛一周之后，他带她去中央公园的Tavern on the Green餐馆共进晚餐，庆祝生日。等座位时，他提议在她参加费城马拉松之前先看看那些尚未认捐的凳子。他拿出地图，他们走啊走，忽然看见一条长椅，上面的献词是：“献给我的女铁人朱莉(Julie)……”
In August 2014, a week after she completed a full Ironman triathlon in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, he took her out for a birthday dinner at Tavern on the Green in Central Park. While waiting for a table, he suggested they look at a few available benches in advance of Ms. Ginsburg’s running the Philadelphia Marathon. He pulled out a map, and they walked until they stumbled upon a bench with an inscription that started with the words “To My Ironwoman Julie. ...”
金斯伯格惊呆了，需要在自己的新长椅上坐下缓缓神。
Ms. Ginsburg, stunned, needed a seat on her new bench.
她说：“我本以为要在20年后我们有孩子或孙子时才能拥有铭刻自己名字的长椅。”
“The bench was something I expected 20 years from now, when we had children and grandchildren,” she said.
她转过头发现他单膝跪地打算求婚时，更是惊呆了。
She was doubly stunned when she turned and found him on one knee, about to propose.
金斯伯格说：“我现在回想起来依然觉得不像真的。”
“All of it is still so surreal to me,” Ms. Ginsburg said.
他们于2015年1月18日结婚。
They wed on Jan. 18, 2015.
马德琳·莫里斯和丹尼尔·戈德伯格(Madelyn Morris and Daniel Goldberg)
Madelyn Morris and Daniel Goldberg
2014年7月，莫里斯正在备考纽约的律师资格考试。有一天清晨，戈德伯格离开他们在曼哈顿的公寓，说是去参加一个重要会议。但是实际上，他没去办公室，而是飞往芝加哥，与莫里斯的父母共进早餐，请求他们把女儿嫁给他。
In July 2014, while Ms. Morris was studying for the New York bar exam, Mr. Goldberg left their Manhattan apartment early one morning for what he told her was an important meeting at work. But instead of heading to the office, he headed for the airport for a flight to Chicago to have breakfast with Ms. Morris’s parents, and to ask them if he could marry their daughter.
当天下午他返回曼哈顿，在接下来的一个月里，他开始实施一个雄心勃勃的计划，他称之为勇敢者游戏计划(Project Jumanji)，其中包括把他们在格林尼治村的屋顶改造成热带天堂。在朋友们的帮助下，他从家得宝(Home Depot)买来草皮、躺椅和20棵棕榈树，有的棕榈树高约2.1米，布置在黑色柏油屋顶上。改造完以后，他邀请女友去屋顶散心，朋友和家人则藏在街对面等待庆祝。
He was back in Manhattan that afternoon, and the following month, he began putting in motion an ambitious plan that he dubbed Project Jumanji, which involved transforming their Greenwich Village rooftop into a tropical paradise. With help from friends, he covered his black-tarred roof with turf grass, lawn chairs and 20 palm trees, some seven feet high, bought from Home Depot. Upon completion, he hiked up to the roof with his future wife, as friends and family, waiting to celebrate, hid across the street.
莫里斯说：“在我们的屋顶上看到一个小森林，我非常惊喜。正是他喜欢玩乐、淘气、体贴、有点莽撞和包容的性格让我想嫁给他。”
“I was surprised to see a small forest on our roof,” Ms. Morris said. “It’s the same fun-loving, mischievous, thoughtful, slightly reckless and inclusive spirit that made me want to marry him.”
他们的婚礼于2015年8月8日举行。
Their ceremony was on Aug. 8, 2015.
西玛·拉希德和费萨尔·查拉尼亚(Seema Rasheed and Faisal Charania)
Seema Rasheed and Faisal Charania
2014年3月，休斯敦的一对情侣走进Whole Foods超市，那是他们在周日早上的惯例。
In March 2014, the Houston couple walked into a Whole Foods as part of their Sunday morning routine.
拉希德医生说：“那是我最喜欢的地方。实际上，我可能去那儿去得太多了。”
“It’s my favorite place,” Dr. Rasheed said. “In fact, I probably go there a little too often.”
他们在一条通道上挑选鲜花时，广播里响起拉希德医生最喜欢的埃塔·詹姆斯(Etta James)演唱的《At Last》。排队结账时，拉希德转身发现查拉尼亚(Charania)拿出戒指，等待她说愿意做他的新娘。
As they walked down an aisle to pick up flowers, Dr. Rasheed’s favorite song, “At Last,” by Etta James, began playing. While waiting at the checkout line, Dr. Rasheed turned to find Mr. Charania holding out a ring, with the hope that she would say yes to becoming his bride.
藏在咖啡吧后面的家人走出来庆祝。他们和惊奇的顾客们一起欢呼，这时帮助查拉尼亚策划这场惊喜的店经理走出来，给这对情侣送上一篮子巧克力、水果、杏仁和香槟。
A celebration followed with family members who had been hiding behind the coffee bar. They cheered, along with curious customers, when a store manager who helped Mr. Charania plan his surprise presented the couple with a basket of chocolates, fruits, almonds and Champagne.
拉希德医生说，“我大哭起来，简直不敢相信这一切。太令人震撼了。”
“I just cried, I couldn’t believe it,” Dr. Rasheed said. “It was so overwhelming.”
2015年4月11日，他们结为连理。
They were wed on April 11, 2015.
萨拉·马库斯和托马斯·格罗伊利希(Sarah Marcus and Thomas Greulich)
Sarah Marcus and Thomas Greulich
格罗伊利希先生是在新泽西州兰道夫(Randolph)的莫里斯社区学院(County College of Morris)与马库斯女士相识的。2013年8月，在佛蒙特州旅行时，他在热气球上向她求婚。那是他们五年恋爱和漫长友谊的高潮。
Mr. Greulich, who met Ms. Marcus at the County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J., proposed on a hot-air balloon ride during a trip to Vermont in August 2013. It was the culmination of a long friendship followed by five years of dating.
他们和另外三对情侣一起在尚普兰湖(Lake Champlain)上空约914米飘浮，他突然单膝下跪，向她求婚，让她激动得透不过气来。当她点头同意时，其他乘客开始鼓掌，不久之后（落地之后）和他们一起喝香槟庆祝。
As they floated in the company of three other couples some 3,000 feet above Lake Champlain, he took her breath away by dropping to one knee and asking for her hand in marriage. When she nodded in the right direction, their fellow passengers applauded and joined them for a Champagne toast (on land) shortly thereafter.
她说：“这样的惊喜真是太棒了。我完全没有料到。”
“It was a wonderful surprise,” she s said. “I didn’t see it coming.”
2015年1月31日，他们盟誓成婚。
They exchanged vows on Jan. 31, 2015.
阿什莉·亚诺弗和马龙·勒温特((Ashley Yanover and Marlon LeWinter)
Ashley Yanover and Marlon LeWinter
今年3月7日，这对夫妇去纽约参加《今日秀》(Today)节目，亚诺弗以为他们将参加这个节目的“每日市场迷”环节(Plaza Fan of the Day)。她不知道，勒温特早在数月前就与该节目的一位制作人联系，悄悄安排了他所说的“一生中最惊喜的一天”。
Last March 7, the couple arrived at the “Today” show in New York, where Ms. Yanover was led to believe they would be included in the show’s “Plaza Fan of the Day” segment. Unknown to her, Mr. LeWinter had made contact with a show producer months earlier and worked behind the scenes to put together what he called “the most amazing day of my life.”
到达洛克菲勒中心后，亚诺弗后给佛罗里达州波卡拉顿市(Boca Raton)的父母打电话，提醒他们看电视。她妈妈在手机里说她在外面遛狗，说她爸爸在洗澡。但是实际上，他们在两层楼下的演员休息室里等候。勒温特的父母也从佛罗里达州波因顿滩市(Boynton Beach)赶来，在另一间演员休息室里等候。
Upon arrival at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, she called her parents’ home in Boca Raton, Fla., to remind them to watch the show. Speaking by cellphone, her mother said she was outside walking her dog, and that Ms. Yanover’s father was taking a shower. But they were actually waiting in a green room two floors below. Mr. LeWinter’s parents, who made the trip from Boynton Beach, Fla., were in a separate green room.
亚诺弗念完一个商品广告，转向勒温特，他本该宣布节目进入广告时间，但是却转向亚诺弗，手里拿着戒指，开始求婚。他们的家人，还有全美国的观众，都在观看。
Their families, along with a national audience, watched as Ms. Yanover read a promo before turning to Mr. LeWinter, who was supposed to take the show into a commercial break, but turned instead to Ms. Yanover and, with ring in hand, began making his pitch.
后来，亚诺弗说：“我特别激动，激动得说不出话。我脑子里其实只想到一件事：‘这是真的吗？’真是令人惊喜的一天。”
“I was extremely overwhelmed and basically speechless,” she said. “The only thing really going through my head was ‘Is this really happening?’ Such an amazing day.”
他们的婚礼定于2016年5月28日举行。
Their wedding is set for May 28, 2016.
萨拉·罗特席尔德和迈克尔·沙可欧(Sarah Rothschild and Michael Schakow)
Sarah Rothschild and Michael Schakow
2015年6月，在哥本哈根旅行时，沙可欧先生在那里的一家餐馆拿出一枚钻石戒指向罗特席尔德女士求婚，那枚戒指曾属于他的曾祖母，她于1942年在特雷布林卡集中营去世。在他们即将从华沙犹太聚居区被驱逐到特雷布林卡时，他的曾祖父曾想用这枚戒指贿赂一位纳粹军官，以求释放妻子和女儿。他的曾祖父带着那枚戒指藏起来侥幸逃脱，直到1945年华沙解放。
On a trip to Copenhagen in June 2015, Mr. Schakow proposed at a restaurant there, giving Ms. Rothschild a diamond ring that belonged to his great-grandmother, who died at the Treblinka extermination camp in 1942. His great-grandfather had tried unsuccessfully to use the ring to bribe an SS officer to release his wife and daughter as they awaited deportation from the Warsaw ghetto to Treblinka. His great-grandfather survived in hiding, with the ring, until Warsaw’s liberation in 1945.
罗特席尔德说：“在他给我那枚戒指之前，我完全不知道它的存在。他告诉我戒指背后的故事时，我很害怕。”
“I didn’t know the ring existed until he gave it to me,” she said. “When he told me the back story, it was just chilling.”
沙可欧先生说：“能送给她那枚戒指，对我来说十分重要。它是我们家的祖传遗物，具有非常独特而重要的意义。那是我能给她的最有意义的东西。”
Mr. Schakow said: “It meant the world to me to be able to give her that ring, which is an heirloom that has a very special and significant place in my family’s history. It was the most meaningful thing I had in my life to give her.”
他们于2015年11月7日结婚。
They were married on Nov. 7, 2015.
钦耶·埃兹和妮科尔·汉弗莱(Chinyere Ezie and Nicole Humphrey)
Chinyere Ezie and Nicole Humphrey
2014年4月，埃兹女士在布鲁克林家中为汉弗莱女士举办迪士尼主题派对，庆祝她29岁生日，并向她求婚。
Ms. Ezie proposed at her Brooklyn home in April 2014, during a Disney-themed party celebrating Ms. Humphrey’s 29th birthday.
埃兹说：“她的内心像个孩子。她非常喜欢迪士尼影片，知道所有迪士尼歌曲的歌词。”
“She’s a kid at heart,” Ms. Ezie said. “She loves Disney movies and knows the words to all of those songs.”
所以，她决定拿起麦克风，为汉弗莱演唱《小美人鱼》(The Little Mermaid)的主题曲《吻她》(Kiss the Girl)。在引吭高歌之际，她突然双膝跪地，请汉弗莱嫁给她。
So she decided to grab a microphone and serenade Ms. Humphrey with a karaoke rendition of “Kiss the Girl,” from “The Little Mermaid.” After belting out the tune, she dropped to both knees and asked Ms. Humphrey to marry her.
汉弗莱说：“一开始我说‘你怎么敢这样做’。然后我就开始大哭。”
“At first I said, ‘Don’t you dare,’” Ms. Humphrey said. “Then I just started crying.”
然后她一直哭，让埃兹搞不清她到底有没有答应。
And she kept on crying, leaving Ms. Ezie to wonder if the answer was yes.
埃兹说：“我得承认，我担心了一分钟。我必须等她停止啜泣，才能跟她确认我没有被拒绝。”
“I will confess, I was worried there for a minute,” Ms. Ezie said. “I had to wait for her to stop sobbing before I could confirm that I hadn’t been shot down.”
她们的婚礼于2015年8月22日举行。
Their ceremony was on Aug. 22, 2015.
凯瑟琳·加斯顿和康纳·多盖尔蒂(Katherine Gaston and Connor Dougherty)
Katherine Gaston and Connor Dougherty
2014年6月，多盖尔蒂穿上运动服，把订婚戒指塞进口袋，说自己想和加斯顿一起在纽约州Quogue市她的故乡跑步。
In June 2014, Mr. Dougherty threw on some workout clothes, slipped an engagement ring into his pocket and asked Ms. Gaston if he could join her for a run through her hometown, Quogue, N.Y.
多盖尔蒂说：“我本想在镇上海湾边的一个地方求婚，但是她不停地跑。”他开始快速思考下一个求婚的最佳地点，但是她快速跑过船区、池塘、她家海滨别墅的后院，一直跑进了卧室。
“I had this point in town by the bay where I wanted to propose, but she kept running,” he said. He began brainstorming the next-best spot to do it, but she zipped past the boats, past the pond, across the back deck of her family’s beach house and into the bedroom.
多盖尔蒂跟着她，悄悄走进去，上了楼。“她说，‘在家里其他人来这儿之前，我们得洗洗衣服，梳洗一下。’”
Mr. Dougherty followed, tiptoeing inside and up the stairs. “She said, ‘We’ll need to do laundry and clean up before the rest of the family comes out here.’ ”
他追上她说：“在家人来之前，还有一件事。”
“There’s one other thing to do before the family comes out,” he said after catching up to her.
2015年9月12日，她成了多盖尔蒂夫人。
She became Mrs. Dougherty on Sept. 12, 2015.
斯蒂芬妮·凯特和温斯顿·洛德(Stephanie Cate and Winston Lord)
Stephanie Cate and Winston Lord
洛德知道凯特最喜欢的地方是北卡罗来纳州的伯德岛(Bird Island)，那是一个无人居住的狭长地带，从她的家乡落日海滩(Sunset Beach)骑车一会儿就能到达。超过35年来，当地人和外地人去那里看海，观看一个名叫“志趣相投”(Kindred Spirit)的破旧邮箱，人们会把关于他们人生的消息和故事匿名留在那里。
Mr. Lord knew that Ms. Cate’s favorite place in the world was Bird Island in North Carolina, an uninhabited strip of land just a short bike ride from her hometown, Sunset Beach. For more than 35 years, locals and others have gone there to look out at the water and visit a rickety old mailbox called the Kindred Spirit, in which people leave anonymous messages and stories about their lives.
凯特喜欢去那里展望未来，缅怀所失，庆祝自己或大或小的成功。所以去年，洛德选择在那里求婚，他往邮箱里放了一封五页长的信，表达自己为什么爱她以及如何深爱她。信旁放着一个有着天鹅绒衬里的盒子，里面放着一枚戒指（亲戚们藏在一个沙丘后面看守）。
It was here that Ms. Cate would go to contemplate her future, mourn big losses and celebrate private victories. So it was here that Mr. Lord chose to propose last year, putting in the mailbox a five-page letter he had written explaining why and how much he loved her. Nestled beside it was a velvet-lined box holding the ring (guarded by relatives who had hid behind a sand dune).
她很快读到了他的信，其中一句话道出了所有订过婚的人的感受，不管他们多么煞费苦心地营造完美的求婚经历：“当你陷入爱河，知道自己想要和那个人共度余生时，感觉美妙极了。”
She was soon reading his letter, and came across a line that spoke to everyone who has ever been engaged, no matter the depths they have gone to create the perfect proposal: “It’s amazing when you fall in love and know you want to spend the rest of our life with that person,” he wrote.
他们于2015年4月8日结婚。
They wed on April 18, 2015.