By: jackie.sauter

How about this: last weekend, I saw a feature story about up-and-coming grooms-to-be hiring a proposal planner to craft an elaborate marriage proposal.

Those in the wedding business are psyched about this extension of the almost $50 billion-dollar industry. (Except for maybe this party pooper).

With Valentine’s Day on Thursday, I wonder if people in the proposal-planning profession are swamped with swooning suitors? Or are most men turned off by the idea of another (admittedly unnecessary) nuptial expense?

If I were a wedding planner, I might seriously consider switching to proposals, given the option. Having a nervous male client seems like it’d be a lot easier than dealing with the “Bridezillas” of Baltimore.

For men desiring a simple V-Day solution that’s a bit… cheaper, one of our sister blogs has an idea: BokayMe.com, an offshoot of 1-800-FLOWERS that will send “animated, scent-less bouquets to that special, but not completely special, someone, for way less than a dozen long-stemmed roses.” (By “way less,” they do mean waaay less: most of the bouquets are 2-3 credits, which I can only assume are interchangeable with dollars.)

If anyone sends an animated bouquet to their sweetie on Thursday, I’d love to know how it was received.

JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor