Gen Z couples are loving the idea of “quiet proposing.” This trend is a huge departure from historic engagement practices. Nicole Elise, a 2025 bride-to-be, went viral on TikTok, detailing her thoughts on a burgeoning engagement trend. She noted that the trend is a representation of younger generations’ shifting attitudes on engagements.
This trend points to a positive move toward a more inclusive and collaborative process to developing proposals. It departs from the hallmark surprise aspects that have long characterized these soulful experiences. “You think I trust to go pick out the right ring that I have to wear for the rest of my life?” Elise expressed, illustrating the desire for involvement in the ring selection process.
Wealth simple, a luxury jeweler with its roots in the UK, previously unveiled one such study. What it uncovered is that in more than half of instances, partners are getting in on the ring shopping process. A surprising 53% of millennials couples want to select engagement rings together. This represents a significant departure from previous expectations, when one partner would traditionally surprise the other with a ring.
At Pitch Envoy, Ella Citron-Thompkins, an expert consultant with Diamond Factory, explained the quiet proposing trend in detail. “Quiet proposing is a new trend where engagements are kept intimate and private, without public displays or widespread announcements, focusing on a personal, low-key moment for the couple,” she stated. Focusing on building authentic relationships. This strategy plays into Gen Z’s motivations because they value genuine connections over flashy displays.
Actress and entrepreneur Koko Collins, an active mommy-to-be on TikTok, fought back against the trend on her own social media channel. She reinforced the importance of personal choice in the engagement process by stating, “Why would I let somebody else choose something that I will live with for the rest of my life?” Her experience is representative of an entire generation of new engaged couples who are coming into the market with this alternative method of proposing.
A recent study, which informed the Diamond Factory piece, took the conversation a step further by looking into who young men are turning to for support stone-shopping. The findings revealed that brides-to-be, parents, friends, and siblings are often involved, reflecting a broader cultural shift towards inclusivity in what was once considered a private matter.
Couples are focusing on experiences over Instagrammable moments and they’re dialing it down. This subtle proposing trend will surely change the way future generations will ever think of engagements. The focus on heightened collaboration and closeness marks the next act, a move away from the grand spectacle shocks of years past.
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