How to Propose in Cinque Terre: Romantic Marriage Proposal Ideas

Justin & Paige's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

How did you meet?

What is your love story?

I knew Paige was ‘the one’ early on after meeting her. I immediately felt a connection, and as we spent more time together and learned more about each other, I realized that we operated in the same ‘frequency’. We have so much in common and our differences complement each other perfectly. But I knew she was ‘the one’ when I would think about taking the next steps in our relationship (marriage, kids, the rest of out lives) I never had a single ounce of doubt.

What made you choose this proposal destination?

Paige is in her final year of law school and is studying abroad in Lyon, France while I’ve been home in Texas working as a digital marketer. We were planning a trip for me to come and visit her and decided to meet each other in Italy. The trip included stops in Rome, Cinque Terre, and Lake Como. Once we had the destinations of the trip, I just needed to figure out the right time and place to do it. Cinque Terre looked like one of the most beautiful places I’d ever seen and it was a no brainer from there.

What is your proposal story?

We were staying in Corniglia and took a train to Manarola for the Nissun Dorma pesto making class. We explored the shops, drank wine, and took in the sights. From there, we took the ferry to Vernazza. Paige is incredibly smart and I’m terrible at keeping secrets, so I suspect she had an idea of what I might have been planning. But she didn’t know when/how I was going to do it. Once we got to Vernazza, I suggested we take a small hike up the side of the hill to get a few of the town. Once we got up there, I spotted Gaia (our photographer) ready at the proposal spot. When we approached, I sent the signal by attempting to take a selfie of Paige and myself. Gaia then came up saying she was a photographer/tourist waiting for a family to arrive and offered to take a picture and send it to us. At that moment, I pointed up the mountain path and said to Paige that we were going to continue our hike a little further up. When she turned to look up the path, I got down on one knee and asked her if she would marry me.

Best tip for proposing in Cinque Terre

Bring good walking shoes (and an empty stomach)! There are lot of hills and steps, but so many amazing spots to eat great food and drink incredible wine within each town in Cinque Terre.

Proposed in Cinque Terre in October

Photo Shoot Location: Vernazza

Gaia in Cinque Terre for Flytographer

Cam & Jess's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

How did you meet?

Friends/Family

Proposed in Cinque Terre in September

Photo Shoot Location: Monterosso al Mare

Gaia in Cinque Terre for Flytographer

Ryan & Bailie's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

How did you meet?

Bumble

Proposed in Cinque Terre in September

Photo Shoot Location: Custom Route

Giulia in Cinque Terre for Flytographer

Frankie & Sophia's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

How did you meet?

School

Proposed in Cinque Terre in June

Photo Shoot Location: Vernazza

Gaia in Cinque Terre for Flytographer

Josh & Ashlee's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

How did you meet?

Friends/Family

Proposed in Cinque Terre in July

Photo Shoot Location: Vernazza

Maria R. in Cinque Terre for Flytographer

Zovin & Kai Wen's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

How did you meet?

School

What is your love story?

We met in school in a piano club and used to go home together after sessions since we stayed close by. From there, we started to hang out more as friends, studied in school together, and got to know each other more. I knew she was 'the one' as she is the most loving, kind, caring, and thoughtful person and I've always felt comfortable being by her side, and eventually we got together.

What made you choose this proposal destination?

Cinque Terre was one of her favorite travel destination as she loved the beautiful colors of the houses and even more so that it was by the Mediterranean sea.

What is your proposal story?

I planned for a dinner at a restaurant in Manarola, and suggested that it would be good to catch the sunset before dinner. Little did she know that I had a photographer waiting at the elevated viewpoint at Punta Bonfiglio to capture our special moment together. Also, there was a huge puzzle piece I bought her which we were building together before our trip, so it was meaningful and perfect to propose there.

Best tip for proposing in Cinque Terre

Have a plan in mind. Try to be there in advance and know your route to the destination, as it can be complicated with many steps.

Proposed in Cinque Terre in May

Photo Shoot Location: Manarola

Gaia in Cinque Terre for Flytographer

Alexander's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

What is your love story?

We met as roommates! It was destiny from day 1, we just didn't know it.

What made you choose this proposal destination?

It was a dream of my girlfriend to visit Cinque Terre. So when we planned our Italy trip we focused on Cinque Terre. I knew this would be the best place to propose to my beach-loving girlfriend.

What is your proposal story?

It went amazing. She was so surprised! When our photographer got us into position I was so excited I was able to surprise my Girlfriend with this huge moment of our lives. It was very special.

Proposed in Cinque Terre in November

Photo Shoot Location: Manarola

Gaia in Cinque Terre for Flytographer

Blake's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

What is your love story?

Alex and I met at work, but did not date right away. A mutual friend of ours from work was the one who gave me the courage to ask her out and we had a four hour dinner as our first date. We were both surprised with how much we had in common and the night ended with Alex jumping in front of me as I walked her home to give me a kiss. We took it slow at the beginning in fears it would create a weird dynamic at work if it did not work out, but it was worth the risk and now we're engaged!

What made you choose this proposal destination?

We booked a trip to Italy around six months earlier and it felt like the right time to do the proposal. We were visiting Rome, Capri, Sorrento, Positano, Florence, but something about the backdrop in Cinque Terre stood out to me. I wanted to do the proposal near the end of our two week trip in hopes it would build the moment up and finish with a bang. It went exactly as I planned and we couldn't be happier!

What is your proposal story?

The proposal was a blur. Between my nervousness and her surprise, we were a mess. I had six sentences prepared and only got out parts of two of them before giving up and taking a knee to ask the big question. Her hand was shaking when I went to put the ring on it and I don't remember this, but she told me she said "thank you" to my will you marry me question. We were overtaken by our emotions and that made the moment even more special.

Proposed in Cinque Terre in August

Photo Shoot Location: Manarola

Luis in Cinque Terre for Flytographer

Elliott's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

What is your love story?

We met through my best friend in the great city of San Diego. We got to know each other and took it slow and ended up being long distance for two years while Nina was working on her degree in New York. I knew she was the one when she finally made the decision to move to California. It was such big commitment leaving all of her friends and family.

What made you choose this proposal destination?

We had our 2 week trip to Italy already booked so it only seemed fitting to propose in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Cinque Terre is one of the most unique cities I've ever been to and I knew the pictures would have an incredible backdrop for our big day

What is your proposal story?

The events leading up to the proposal was a little chaotic but that only made the experience better. Once we made it to the proposal spot, it was absolutely breathtaking. The sun was setting and the weather was perfect. Nina was hungry and complaining about being late for dinner reservations, but that just reassured me that she had no idea the proposal was coming. She thought it was ridiculous that we were both so hungry and I wanted to climb down the rocks to "take a picture for instagram". I saw Gaia and knew what we had to do. Everything I rehearsed went out the window and I completely blanked, but I managed to utter the important lines. After she said yes all of the local boats were honking their horns and the tourists from all around us we cheering and yelling. It was one of the most memorable experiences of our lives.

Proposed in Cinque Terre in September

Photo Shoot Location: Custom Route

Gaia in Cinque Terre for Flytographer

Nick's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

What is your love story?

Nick and Danelyn met through mutual friends in high school. After almost ten years of dating, they knew they wanted to be together for the rest of our lives.

What made you choose this proposal destination?

Cinque Terre is a place Danelyn always wanted to visit. So it was only right for Nick to propose to her in the beautiful village!

What is your proposal story?

Nick told Danelyn they had a dinner reservation at a restaurant over looking the village of Manarola. Right after taking selfies with the view, a photographer (Ramón of Flytographer) insisted on taking photos of them for his portfolio. After a few snaps, Nick got down on one knee and proposed!

Proposed in Cinque Terre in September

Photo Shoot Location: Manarola

Ramon and Sonia in Cinque Terre for Flytographer

Adam's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

What made you choose this proposal destination?

Before I met Lauren, she was able to visit the Cinque Terre for a day and bought a painting on the street in Vernazza. This painting was captured Vernazza's harbor beautifully and she's been obsessed with the city ever since. I had it framed for her as a Christmas present almost 2 years ago around the same time we began discussing the possibility of a return trip to Europe. Immediately after deciding to plan a trip, I decided I'd simultaneously plan my proposal, so we could get engaged in the painting and have it as reminder.

What is your proposal story?

The day before our first full day staying in Vernazza, I told Lauren that I had scheduled a surprise trip to a local vineyard. This is something we might do anywhere and served as a good excuse to have her hair, nails, and makeup ready early in the morning. Immediately, she peppered me with questions about whether to pack a bag and what walking would be like and what the vineyard looks like (because of course). I researched an actual vineyard in Monterosso and quickly used that to facilitate the lie. The following morning, after 7 days of travel through 2 other countries, she wakes up early in preparation "to meet our vineyard tour guides at our pick-up point in Vernazza harbor." The only initial snag was placing the ring and box in my back pocket before brushing my teeth that morning. Lauren kindly reminded me to brush my teeth and had to scramble up a plan to get across the studio apartment without her seeing this mountain sticking out in my pocket. I motioned across the room for her to grab her hat and rotated clockwise simultaneously, so I could back into the bathroom and we were back on track! We walked down into the harbor, which was still quietly preparing for a day of tourism and I didn't immediately see Ramon and Sonia. We had planned for them to be out taking pictures of the city before our arrival and we would stumble upon them and ask for a picture. As soon as I start to panic slightly, I hear a whistle from the main street of Vernazza. Ramon and Sonia were moving towards us while rotating around taking pictures of the buildings and each other. I immediately sent the signal for them to approach us (we took a selfie with the church behind us). As Ramon gets close, I ask him to take a picture of us with my phone and then he offers to use his professional camera. After one click, we were re-positioned and I drop to a knee. The rest is a storm of tears, giggling, a yes and a premature snatching of the ring, only for me to reclaim it and place it on Lauren's finger in traditional fashion.

Proposed in Cinque Terre in September

Photo Shoot Location: Vernazza

Ramon and Sonia in Cinque Terre for Flytographer

Kunjan's Proposal Story in Cinque Terre

What is your love story?

We met in Upstate NY despite being from Southern California, and over the course of the year in half I knew she was a complement to my soul in every sense of the word. I could not have found someone better to spend the rest of my life with and the moment I heard her laugh and saw her smile, I knew I wanted to wake up to her every morning.

What made you choose this proposal destination?

I love traveling, and we had picked this spot due to the natural beauty of the landscape in the background along with the water, because there is nothing more she loves than the ocean. Look at the pictures, they capture the essence of the five villages beautifully.

What is your proposal story?

Earlier in the day we arrived at Nessun Dorma which is just next to the location of my surprise proposal later in the day and we both immediately fell in love with Manarola. My mission was to find a way to get her to go back to the hotel room to change and also so I could pick up the engagement ring. On our way back, I told her I may have left my sunglasses back at the restaurant and that we should change and head back. She reluctantly went along with the plan. Once there, Ramon and Sonia had arrived and I told her we should ask a random stranger to capture our photos since we were a bit more dressed up. Lo and behold, Ramon offered to take our picture with his nice camera and right as he said the “The lighting is perfect,” I got down on one knee and she could not believe it was happening. While she fought through tears, my mind went blank and due to all the nerves and her tears I forgot what I had wanted to say. Thankfully she said yes. It was a moment we’ll never forget thanks to the pictures taken by Ramon and Sonia.

Proposed in Cinque Terre in June

Photo Shoot Location: Manarola

Ramon and Sonia in Cinque Terre for Flytographer