Cambridge’s cutest college proposals

Whether you’ve fallen in (college) love at first sight, or are still scrambling to get hitched before all of the good ones get taken, there’s no denying that the marriage system at Cambridge is one of our more charming traditions, if a little bit baffling.

Now that Valentine’s Day is a distant memory, and I’ve been starved for soppy stories, I’ve decided to be particularly nosy and sift out the cutest and coolest tales of college-approved courtship that I could find. And I’ve got to admit, it’s been nice living vicariously through you all.

So, if you’re looking for some inspiration on how to pop the question to that special someone, or just something to passive-aggressively send to your already disappointing college S.O, look no further.

Here is the non-official, but-I-tried-really-hard-on-it-so-my-opinion-is-the-opinion ranking of Cambridge’s Cutest College Proposals!

5. Eve, Kasia, Claudia and Sophia – Robinson

What better way to start than with a classic formal proposal? The fact that it’s a Bridgemas formal also makes this story 100 per cent more heart-warming.

“Eve had bought four silver rings before Bridgemas formal, and when we sang the Twelve Days of Christmas, she waited until the last chorus, stood up and said ‘speaking of rings… will you girls marry me?’ Then we all stood up and hugged and awwwwwed because we’re sappy and suckers for romance.”

Not quite five gold rings, but we’ll forgive them for that one.

4. Alex, Karris, Jaden and Romane – Jesus

One of the most intricate proposal stories I’ve heard of, and one of the very few examples where stalkery notes in your pidge turn out to be a good thing (spoilers!)

“Over the course of a couple of weeks, my now-spouses started leaving anonymous post-it notes outside my bedroom door/in my pidge. Each one was numbered and contained a line of a different poem, with one or two words in red. I kept track of all the red words and eventually figured out that they were spelling out another line of poetry – Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray, which is where the title of the Hardy novel Far From the Madding Crowd comes from.”

Lotus biscuits are Elite Tier so you know they have taste.

“Jaden gave me an envelope one day, which he said someone had given him (I still had no idea who the notes were from). Written inside was the marriage proposal scene from Far From the Madding Crowd, along with space for me to leave my answer – to what I’d finally realised was a college proposal. I ticked yes, and left my answer in the downstairs bathroom as I’d been told to. At our staircase Christmas dinner later that week, I was led away from the table to follow a trail of post-it notes up the stairs, at the top of which were Karris, Jaden, and Romane, all down on one knee with Primark rings and a camera set up to record the proposal moment.”

The culmination of nearly a month’s worth of effort!

3. Annie and Will Yun – Corpus Christi

“I got a friend at St Catz to book the large meeting room opposite Corpus, and we went in it and hung a banner across Trumpington Street from his gyp – I stood on the balcony and hung up ‘Will Yun marry me?’ (because his name is Will Yun). He stood on the road, and I just got down on one knee and proposed – he was very shocked, and we had a wonderful public audience.”

Bonus points for the amazing pun!

2. Shaimerden and Pragya – King’s

“I decided to get a busker to sing her favourite song on the market square as we walked past. But it was winter, so I knew there would be no buskers, so I posted this on Camfess.”

“Then a guy called Christopher hit me up, and turns out he’s got a string quartet, and they’re wanting to busk! I tell Chris that I want him to learn Seaside by the Kooks (one of my wife’s favourite songs).”

The stage was set, and on the 14th of February – of course! – Shaimerden lead Pragya under one of King’s archways, where the string quartet was waiting.

The cherry on top?

“As I’m an engineer, we had 3D printers at the department. I made 5 different rings for her to choose from, and a ring box to put them all in.”

1. Kika and Murdo – Trinity

“My friend contacted Glitterbomb a week or so before the night that Dani Harmer (Tracy Beaker) was due to perform there. She had asked them if it would be possible to get Dani to make an announcement for her: a college proposal to my other friend. We all went to Glitterbomb and Dani Harmer did her set and played trivia games with the audience, then left to the VIP section – we all thought it wasn’t going to happen and we were so disappointed.”

But would Tracy Beaker ever disappoint us? Of course not. To see the proposal in all its glory, watch the video below!

BONUS: Anna and Alexis – Murray Edwards

What better way to propose to a Mathmo?

So, there you have it. If your faith in college-love isn’t restored by now, I don’t know what to tell you. And if you have any more cute proposal stories that you haven’t shared with us yet, please do: The Tab can’t get enough of it.