$50,000 Engagement Ring Cupcake? Edible Marriage Proposals Made to Order

By Piper Weiss, Shine Staff | 

 
What looks better: the ring or the cupcake?As Valentine’s Day approaches, so inevitably do marriage proposals. With around 10 percent of engagements planned for February 14th, food purveyors have started offering package deals to make the whole process easier. Of course, having your own pre-wedding planner comes at a price. 
Pizza Hut, the delivery chain that caters to both kids birthdays and college after-parties, will do it for $10,010. The pie chain just announced plans to provide limo service, a ruby engagement ring, flowers, fireworks, a personal videographer, along with breadsticks and a medium cheese pizza for the first ten people who place the order.  This is not a joke.
It remains to be seen how many people will spring for the delivery deal but expect to see at least one pop up on YouTube to the delight of the Pizza Hut marketing team. Note: It only comes with one free topping so choose wisely.
It’s not exactly a deal, but it’s a lot cheaper than the going rate at another eatery.  Cupcakes Gourmet, a Pennsylvania-based bakery, will make that special someone a red velvet cupcake topped with an 8-carat diamond ring. Through a partnership with Warwick Jewelers, a local diamonds n’ things store, ring buyers get a 15 percent discount and free edible pillow to present it on. The grand total: $55,000. But, if you want a smaller carat diamond, the bakery will work with you on price.
Folding proposals into fancy dinners and surprise desserts has long been part of the job for restaurateurs. At the White Barn Inn in Maine, for example, they make their own chocolate heart-shaped boxes for the grand ring presentation. They even have a script for waiters ("For you, we have something extra!").  
But the all-inclusive theme is new. Shopping for a ring becomes a lot more enticing when food is included, but be careful where you hide the goods.
In 2009, Kaitlin Whipple swallowed the ring her fiancé hid in her Wendy’s milkshake. After the emergency room fees and x-rays, not to mention the efforts to salvage the diamond days later, that $10,000 disaster-free pizza seems like a bargain.