Plan perfect proposal with smartphone app

HOW would you like to be proposed to? With a diamond so big it has to be carried on a cushion? Under the Eiffel Tower? Or, by a chap desperately clutching his iPhone?

The latter could be a reality thanks to a new app developed by jeweller Helzberg Diamonds that helps "plan the perfect proposal, from start to finish".

Among the gems offered by Proposal Pro are tips on choosing the perfect ring, writing a memorable proposal, choosing a location, and "how to ask her parents". (They say: get a haircut and make sure you've put yourself together for the occasion. I say: bypass the parents).

There's no doubt that some nervous types might need a bit of assistance when asking this life-changing question. If you're trembling at the prospect of getting down on one knee (really, there's no need) then a bit of guidance could make all the difference.

Proposal Pro's guide on actual ring sizes is genuinely useful with information on the cut and shape of diamonds. But, it does beg the question that if you really need an app to help you say "marry me'', are you really ready to get hitched?

Surely the point of proposing is that you are enamoured enough of your beloved – and secure enough in your relationship – that you know when the time is right to propose, where you want to propose, and what your loved one wants to hear.

And if – we're assuming it's a lad asking a lass, here – she loves you, it shouldn't matter what form the proposal comes in. Be it on bended knee, in the kitchen while you're washing up, or at the top of the mountain, she will say "yes" because she wants to be with you.

Also, an app to assist proposing does seem to show a lack of confidence in a fellow's creativity. Men I know have managed perfectly well on their own to dream up terrific – and appropriate – proposals, such as in the student union where they'd first met their girl.

One highly enterprising man I know even went to the effort of proposing to his lady with fireworks. She heard loud bangs going off in the garden and went outside to find "will you marry me?" written in sparklers. It has, I admit, set a benchmark for proposals everywhere.

But, in all seriousness, this wonderful proposal does show that the gesture should be personal to you and your other half, not suggested by a smartphone.

The trend among celebrities for show-stopping proposals – see Nick Candy asking Holly Valance to marry him with flaming torches on a beach – can make a fellow think his proposal has to be not only romantic, but spectacular. Not so.

If gob-smacking antics are what float you and your lady's boat, then go for it. But nobody is going to think any the worse of you if you simply exchange a ring on the park bench where you always perch on your favourite walk.

But we're forgetting here that ladies don't need to wait for their men to ask that question on the park bench or the beach. Instead, we can take a cue from British politician Chloe Smith, and ask the question ourselves.

The 30-year-old MP took the bull by the horns and proposed to her beau, Sandy McFazdean, in December after a four-month romance.

He's a former soldier, having served with the parachute regiment no less, so is clearly a fearless type. But a modern one too. He described himself and Chloe as a "very equal couple", and when talking about marriage, he'd made some sort of comment along the lines of "why does the pressure have to be on me"? Why indeed.

Next thing he knew, Smith had asked the question. "The silly man should have known better than to lay such a challenge," she said.

Not to be outdone, McFazdean responded to his lady's question the following day with a "yes" – and, of course, a diamond ring.

A happy ever after, one hopes, and not an app in sight. – ©The Daily Telegraph