The bride-to-be sits in a restaurant. The groom-to-be sits across from her, excited and nervous. The waiter brings a special cake, the bride inserts her fork, and voilà! There's the engagement ring. Her partner kneels, asks the expected question, she says "yes." Tears, a kiss, applause from all the restaurant patrons. The end.
We all know this scene, or ones very similar to it, quite well. We've seen dozens like it in romantic movies. In real life, of course, it doesn't always happen that way. Sometimes people really do pull out a ring and kneel, and sometimes the decision to get engaged comes during a conversation the couple has at home. And then there are those who thought creatively and organized a massive production, just like in a Hollywood film.
Such is Yuval Edri, a 27-year-old hairstylist from Hod HaSharon. He met his partner, Dolev, in high school, and after several years they began talking about the next step: "Last year, around Hanukkah, we happened to talk about marriage, and I told her that by next Hanukkah there would be a proposal. About a month and a half before Hanukkah, I got the idea that it would be in Dubai, a destination we both love."
Yuval Edri proposed on the top floor of a Dubai hotel
(Credit: Urel Haziza Events Productions)
Next, Edri began weaving together the proposal: "I started researching various places in Dubai and talking with Israeli producers who work there, hearing price quotes. The producer I chose gave me several options for romantic locations like a beach or restaurant. I chose to book a top floor in a hotel, with a pool and a stunning view overlooking the Burj Khalifa tower."
The day of the proposal arrived, and the excitement was at its peak: "They started working on it from the afternoon," Edri recounts. "They set up a sort of rectangle, like a bridge, covered everything with roses and arranged a path of candles and also a bouquet of roses for her. There were speakers on the sides playing an Idan Amedi song and two photographers. Throughout the day I was in touch with the producer about timing."
How did you get her there?
"I told her that my friend was at that hotel with his wife, and that there was a cocktail party in the evening. That day we were at a beach party, and afterwards we drove to the mall. The truth is, at this point I started getting stressed about timing because we were delayed there for 40 minutes, and my phone battery died. As time went on I became more stressed, and she didn't understand what was happening to me. When we finally left the mall, we discovered there were no available taxis. We waited more than an hour and a half, and then there was crazy traffic."
And even then the story wasn't over. The two arrived at the hotel while Adri updated the producer online about timing: "When we got to the room I wanted us to get ready quickly and leave, but suddenly I realized she was wearing some red-orange dress," he recounts. "I told myself there's no way the proposal would be photographed like that, because I know with certainty she'd be upset about it later. I texted a friend to call and say there's a dress code. The friend called, she heard, and started stressing—what am I going to wear? I told her to wear a white dress. She explained that she brought it for my birthday, which was actually planned for the next day. I told her it's all good, nobody will be photographing tomorrow. She agreed."
How did she react to the proposal?
"She was in shock. She was really surprised. The truth is, all month I was like a Mossad agent—I spoke in hushed tones with a million people, a million calls. It wasn't just organizing the event but also choosing the ring. In the end I got a 4-carat ring in an oval shape, one with embedded diamonds."
Those must be crazy costs, why not settle for a restaurant/picnic at the beach?
"We're talking about several tens of thousands of shekels including the ring. I'm sure many people will look at this and say it's just showing off, but I've been working at a hair salon since age 18, 12-13 hours a day. She always supported me, was always there for me, even when times were tough. I think if you work that hard then at least everything should be invested in her. In the end it's something that's once in a lifetime. She's the person closest to me, knows everything, walks hand in hand with me. We've overcome many obstacles together."
Mom, What Are You Doing Here?!
Ariel Hazan, 27, a recruiter at a co-working company, lives in Tel Aviv with Roy Eitan, 30, manager of an aesthetic medicine clinic in Savyon. Ariel received a unique marriage proposal, one she didn't even dream of: "We've been together for three years already. We met at a party in Eilat for the Interdisciplinary Center, and since then we've traveled together to quite a few destinations around the world. Italy is the place we love most. We already knew we were planning to get engaged. Roy dropped hints here and there about a ring. He knew how much I love Italy, and we decided to fly there for my birthday. Roy is a perfectionist, he wanted the moment to be perfect from his perspective, but in practice we arranged the whole trip at the last minute—even without hotels. We just went with the flow."
What was the actual proposal like?
"On the long drive from Milan to one of the towns in Portofino, I booked several restaurants for the first evening. One of them was in a historic hotel, very vintage and classic. When we arrived I was already exhausted, I wanted to skip it and eat near our hotel, but Roy insisted. He told me 'It's our first evening, it's Friday today, we have to dress up, celebrate properly.' When we arrived at the restaurant I was a bit stunned. There was a white piano, waiters with bow ties, a movie atmosphere... I said to myself: 'Wow, I succeeded with a last-minute reservation.' We ordered wine, and then Roy, who usually doesn't photograph unless I ask, pulled out a camera. Suddenly my family walked in—my parents and two brothers. I was sure I was hallucinating. They started singing 'Happy Birthday' to me, as if all this was a surprise for my birthday. I hugged them, and then Roy looked at me with a look of 'this is our moment.' He knelt down, and I just laughed and cried together. I answered 'Obviously!' and jumped on him. It was an evening from the movies—full of food, wine, laughter and love. We only told the families and kept the news for two days, to enjoy the moment."
Were you surprised?
"Very surprised when my family came in. I was sure my dad and brother were on a work trip, my sister was working and my mom was home. They really managed to fool me. They arrived a day before us in Italy and started on a journey. I felt on cloud nine, to experience a proposal and see your family's faces excited and being part of it, that's everything in my eyes. Not the location, not the ring and not what I wore, the family's gaze was an amazing moment in my life."
What reactions did you get from those around you?
"Everyone around us was waiting for us to get engaged, even more than we were. I discovered how much love we have from those close to us, how much support and how blessed we are. Roy's family sat and waited for us to call, they cried and got excited with us and it was a special moment. My friends were part of the process, they even opened a group without me to stay updated on when it's happening, but he surprised them too when he invited my family."
Underwater
Gal Nir and Omri Bar Yosef are 26-year-old students living in Rehovot. Nir studies law and management in Tel Aviv, and Omri studies land and water at the Faculty of Agriculture. "We've been together for 4 years already," Gal recounts. "At the beginning of the war I was in permanent service in the Education Corps, and Omri served as a combat soldier in the reserves in Gaza and Lebanon, while studying. Throughout our relationship we talked openly about our couplehood and the future. Moving forward to engagement and marriage was another step we decided on together."
How was it in practice?
Omri: "We're both veteran divers and love the sea and diving very much. We make sure to go down to Eilat every few months to breathe some compressed air (as divers say) from a tank against the backdrop of the clear sea. From the start it was clear to me I would do it at sea. One day I talked with a friend about marriage proposals and he asked me if I'd thought about how I'd want to propose, and that's when the diving idea came up. I told him I wouldn't reveal it but he already guessed on his own and I had to admit it."
Then preparations for the event began: "I spoke with our diving club and the club manager immediately offered to help. We agreed on a date, and meanwhile I contacted a sign company in Rishon LeZion and printed the sign. Without Gal noticing I gave it to a good friend from studies who lives in Eilat. She put it at the diving club in Eilat on one of her trips home. The proposal itself was underwater."
Marriage Proposal
(DeepSiam WaterDiving Club)
Why not propose in a standard way?
"Because Gal is not a standard girl, and I thought about how to surprise her with a proposal she wouldn't expect. It's very hard to surprise her, she's too smart."
Gal: "There were some suspicious signs and various hints before, but I was surprised by the actual execution. I was moved to no end by the whole production and the deep thought about every single detail that Omri invested in this experience, so it would be the most special and most ours. I was glowing and felt lucky for the love I have with this special guy."
The excitement during the proposal continued afterward, with all the reactions from friends and family: "Everyone got excited with us. There's something so fulfilling and joyful about sharing this decision with all our loved ones. There were a few questions that repeated themselves, like: How wasn't he afraid to drop the ring? Even when I saw the sign underwater that was my first thought. The instructor who went down with us held the ring during the dive, and then Omri just held it tight. I also didn't stop looking at it all the way up because I was afraid it would fall. They also ask: How didn't you choke from excitement? So of course I got excited, and I also smiled so much that water got into my mask, but whoever dives knows there's no reason to actually choke."
Omri: "I think there's something very special in that moment, of diving. It's an insanely powerful moment, and the two partners experience it in quiet communication of looking into each other's eyes. I'm happy I proposed in a different way, and that it's something that's ours, and includes our hobby in it."
First published: 12:53, 10.03.25