The Most Iconic Movie Proposals of All Time

Movies have long served as the inspiration for grand romantic gestures and dramatic proclamations of love. They've set the bar for many of what is expected from significant others. From cinematic moments on the Empire State Building to intimate moments typically involving candles, these proposals are some of the most romantic in movie history for a reason. Prepare for a total sob fest.

Since the day Pride and Prejudice was penned by Jane Austen, fans of the novel and its many film adaptions have rooted for Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet to get together. The iconic scene where Darcy professes his love for Miss Bennet—and simultaneously insults—has been played by many actors, but none more memorable than Laurence Olivier in 1940.

Coming to America is the classic case of boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, girl finds out boy is a prince. There's nothing more romantic than the scene when Eddie Murphy's character finds his girlfriend, Lisa, on the subway to profess his love and renounce his title for all to see.

Despite their intense love story throughout the entire film, the scene where Landon Carter proposes to Jamie Sullivan was unequivocally the most romantic. The couple spent the evening looking at comets through a telescope before the teenager popped the question to his dying girlfriend.

After only one evening with the newly debuted Sabrina Fairchild, David Larrabee was ready to propose marriage. In fact, after just one dance together, he called off his engagement to another woman.

Perhaps one of the most heart-wrenching proposals ever was when Jo March turned down Laurie in Little Women. Don't feel too bad for these two though, it eventually all worked out. Laurie married Jo's little sister, Amy, and Jo found happiness with Professor Bhaer.

Tracking down the love of his life was a job that required the whole town. In one of the most endearing and concluding scenes of Love Actually, Colin Firth's character takes a chance on love and proposes to Aurelia at the restaurant where she worked in Portugal in front of all of her friends and family.

Both involved with other parties, but having fallen in love aboard a ship traveling to New York, Terry McKay and Nick Ferrante suggest a different kind of proposal. The two promise each other to meet at the Empire State Building in six months if they still loved each other. What ensues is one of the most memorable cinematic moments in history.

Note to self: If you're ever trying to win someone back, serenading them over the loud speaker of a plane will do the trick. At least, that's what Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler) did to win Julia Sullivan (Drew Barrymore) back.

It's every girl's dream to have all of Tiffany & Co. closed to the public, then have someone who looks like Patrick Dempsey tell you to "pick one" post-proposal. Melanie Carmichael (Reese Witherspoon) enjoyed this fantasy and our expectations will never be the same again.

Who knew that one of the most romantic proposals of all time would happen between six year olds? Sweet Home Alabama brings this childhood promise back around when Melanie realizes she's made a mistake and tracks down Jake (Josh Lucas) to repropose.

After leaving her role with the Ziegfeld Follies, Fanny Brice joins the love of her life, Nick Arnstein, aboard a ship. It's there that they decide to get married upon their return to New York. The proposal is romantic and sweet—and there was nothing funny about it.

There was a lot that led to Rachel Chu heading back to New York without her boyfriend, Nick Young. But ultimately it was the emerald sparkler (a.k.a his mother's blessing) that brought the two of them together and gave us another great plane proposal for the history books.

Who wouldn't want to look outside their window to find Richard Gere pulling up in a limousine? After realizing he could lose Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts), Gere's character arrives at her apartment with flowers and a ring to win her back.

After the many pitfalls of a romantic comedy, While You Were Sleeping leads to one of the most epic movie proposals of all time. By simply sliding the ring into the coin slot at Lucy's train station job, Jack reveals that he's brought his whole family along to pop the question.

Although it's the classic "you had me at hello" scene that everyone thinks of with Jerry Maguire, the proposal is not to be overlooked. Though, we'll admit, the proposal is slightly anti-climatic, as it's used to get Dorothy (Renée Zellweger) not to move away.

Johnny Cash and June Carter had a real-life love story that Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix recreated for Walk the Line. There's no better scene than when Cash proposes to Carter onstage in front of 7,000 people.

Listen up, guys: Do not replicate this proposal, as it may result in a fiery disaster. Besides that hiccup, Teddy Walker's (Kevin Hart) idea for his Night School proposal remains sweet, just dangerous.

After a messy breakup, a heartbroken Will (Hugh Grant) almost doesn't take movie star Anna Scott back. Her response? "The fame thing isn't really real, you know. Don't forget, I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her." That does the trick.

While there were many heart-melting moments in A Star is Born, the proposal with the tied guitar string ring and private moment just between Ally and Jack was one of our all-time favorites.

In another Julia Roberts classic rom-com, her character in Stepmom is woken up to a proposal in bed by her boyfriend (Ed Harris). Mind you, this is only the beginning of her road to becoming a stepmother.

It wasn't the children's spelling that spoiled this proposal for Ben Stiller's character in Meet the Parents, but rather the realization that he'd have to get his father-in-law's blessing before popping the question. We love the proposal at the end, but there's something endearing about his original plan.

Every bride who's been proposed to using nesting dolls can thank Serendipity. From the rose petals by the door to the candlelit room, this movie proposal raised the bar on romanticism.

It wasn't the proposal you wanted to happen, but when Massimo proposed to Mary (Jennifer Lopez) by placing the ring inside of a doll house, we nearly melted.

In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Ian popped the question with a no-frills, "I don't really know how to say this, will you marry me?" To which Tula responded with, "yeah." The wedding, on the other hand, was much more over-the-top.

Proving that men and woman can't be friends, Harry makes an epic, love-affirming, proposal to his longtime best friend, Sally, just under the wire at midnight on New Year's Eve. And just so we're clear, it wasn't because it was New Year's Eve, but because, "when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want that the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

When convincing his longtime love to listen to her heart, instead of her head, Noah begs Allie to tell him what she wants. The classic scene has since been heralded as one of the most romantic moments to date.

One of the sweetest proposals started with a suicidal businessman. When Georgia Bird (Queen Latifah) tries to convince a drunk Matthew Kramer (Timothy Hutton) to get off the roof, her longtime crush appears out of nowhere to proclaim his love and propose to her. Thankfully, Kramer gets to safety and Georgia says "yes," so all is good.

When a couple in a romantic comedy finally gets together, often they leave behind dumped partners. In Enchanted, those rejected characters were Prince Edward (James Marsden) and Nancy Tremaine (Idina Menzel). Instead of wallowing, Prince Edward proposes in fairy-tale fashion—with a glass slipper—to Nancy and the two live happily ever after.

While it was Kristen (Gabrielle Union) who had been thinking like a man, Jeremy (Jerry Ferrara) ultimately mans up and proposes to her when he decides he doesn't want to lose her.

What girl doesn't want to be proposed to with a pair of Manolo Blahniks? Men, take note: Mr. Big reproposed and reconciled with Carrie Bradshaw in the closet he built for her and with her dream shoes. Excuse me, as I swoon.

It isn't typical to propose to someone while they're at the alter, but at least Tom didn't show up after Hannah said "I do" when he went to stop her wedding in Scotland. All's fair in love and war, apparently.

Thanks to an overly helpful bride, Jane (Katherine Heigl) was able to tell Malcom (James Marsden) that she loved him in a grand gesture at a wedding. The film then skipped to their beach wedding, so we're guessing he was into her gesture.

Anne Hathaway's character, Emma, was the token easy going, low-maintenance girlfriend. Which is why her boyfriend proposed at home by hiding the ring in the takeout fortune cookie.

Sure, Liv's proposal in Bride Wars wasn't picture-perfect—she found the ring weeks before and then confronted him about it at work—it perfectly defined their relationship and proved to be quirky and sweet in its own right.

The first proposal was to seal the deal on their green card marriage and wasn't exactly romantic. However, after falling in love for real, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) made up for it by professing his love for Margaret (Sandra Bullock) at the office where they met.

After dating Neil (Ben Affleck) for years with no sign of an engagement, Beth left him. But after reconciling, Neil realized he couldn't live without her and proposed when they were moving in together.

Declan (Matthew Goode) spent days helping Anna (Amy Adams) track down her boyfriend in Ireland so she could propose on Leap Day. However, when the time came to say goodbye, they couldn't do it and, well, you can guess how it ends.

Waking up with a diamond ring on your finger? Not exactly a bad morning. In a proposal that was both sweet and simple, Henry DeTamble asks Clare to marry him, despite the obvious obstacles to their relationship—a.k.a. he time travels.

Jason (Laz Alonso) goes the classic fake out proposal route in Jumping the Broom, when he asks Sabrina (Paula Patton) to marry him. First, he tells her he won't do long distance for her new job, then around the corner an orchestra serenades her and he pops the question.

Although, you don't see the actual proposal go down in Because I Said So, the light-hearted, happy ending that is Daphne's (Diane Keaton) wedding is a high point of the film.