Having a reputation as a love-loving weirdo tends to make you the first person your friends call when they decide they want to propose. I've helped plan a weirdly high number of proposals for someone who has never proposed to anyone and isn't a professional.

By far, the biggest thing any of my friends stressed about was getting their partners' ring size without blowing the surprise.

Reddit user sept2two asked:

"What is the most non-suspicious way to get your girlfriends ring size?"

I'll give you my biggest tip at the end. Let's hear what Reddit has to say first.

Try Them On

"My husband wears rings and wanted to try mine on even though I have small fingers while he has 'big Shrek fingers.' "

"When he saw how small they were he laughed and was like 'what size is this?!' I told him and 1 year and 6 months later he proposed to me!"

"I was shocked he remembered the size because he sure can’t remember my birthday. 😂 "

- WebkinzCheekyFanatic

Be A Thief - But Beware

"Steal her jewelry."

- VoiceofTruth7

"Make sure it's something she has worn recently. Don't want to pick something she doesn't wear anymore because it doesn't fit."

- xAUSxReap3r

"I did exactly that with an engagement ring. So far off it couldn’t be resized and had to re order a new one. Whoops."

- jjen21

"Wish I had this thread a few years ago."

"I took one of her rings to the jeweler super smooth-like gave them all the details I gleaned from her Pinterest and random conversations, they gave me a weird look but made the ring. It came out beautiful!"

"Then the big moment hits, I go to slip it on and turns out, I stole a toe ring like an idiot. Thankfully they resized it easily enough."

"Jeweler must have thought my fiancée was 500 pounds."

- dansdansy

Mission Plasticene

"Buy a small square of plasticine at Michael's or art store for a dollar. Then make an impression of one of the rings they currently wear in the plasticene."

"Return the ring where you got it from, make sure there's no putty left behind on it."

"Take the square to a jeweler and have him measure that. They have a set of sizing rings specially for this kind of task."

"The plasticine will not shrink or expand, and will not distort if you're a bit gentle with it. Gives a spot-on measurement."

- AlanMercer

"This either comes from experience or maybe a scene from Mission Impossible that I can't recall; my guess if the former."

- justaspoonthanks

"If you hum the theme song to yourself, do it quietly."

- AlanMercer

Great Gum Health

"Take a piece of floss and tie it around her finger while she's asleep. Bring that to the store."

"Don't have floss? Go get some so you can healthy gums before you propose."

- berkeleyjake

"This was just an ad for floss."

- Stripperturneddoctor

"Did it work?"

- Just-Call-Me-J

Holiday Math

"Had my fiancées daughter draw a thanksgiving hand turkey with her mom’s hand. Then measured the outline and did a little math for circumference. Nailed it."

- Panther81277

"My husband did a very similar thing. He had small nieces in a different state and said they wanted our hands to do turkey drawings with, so we both traced our left hands. :) Sneaky."

- ceejaytee2

"Unfortunately, kids are terrible at this activity."

"If you have this angle it's better to figure something out where the parent and child do handprints in clay."

- africanized_swallow

"Diameter times pi for those of you trying to figure out how to do the math."

- SeasonsRollOnBy

Secret Shoppers

"Apparently women like trying on jewelry they don't even plan to buy."

"My now sister-in-law took my future wife out shopping and they tried on some rings. She reported back to me and there you go."

- HeyWhatsItToYa

"Absolutely, have her go to a place like Pandora with a friend/family member and have that person report back to you."

"That way you can figure out the size, but also get an idea about the style of ring she likes."

- cothai

"My other half did this the best way."

"They convinced me that our mutual friend Bob was going to propose to his girlfriend, and would I please do him a solid and spend the afternoon with him helping him choose what to buy?"

"Of course, I'm happy to help my friend in this difficult choice. I then spent an afternoon, offering ALL my opinions on what I like, etc etc and of course I try a few on for fun..."

"Hey presto, Bob reports back to my partner, and the ring I get eventually is A) perfect size and B) exactly what I'd choose."

"I didn't even realize it had happened until years later when Bob spilled the beans."

- hav0cnz_

Insurance

​"I made my wife try hers on under the guise of insurance."

"I told her to bring them out, try to evaluate them all for insurance purposes, and then when she had them all lined up I acted like I was just curious in the moment about which ring went on which finger."

"Then I took the wedding ring finger sized one to the jeweler. She was none the wiser till I proposed."

- DryCoughski

Napkin Holders

"Some restaurants have paper rings that go around napkins. Next time you go out to eat at one of those restaurants, find a way to wrap one around her finger, and when she's not looking, keep it."

"I wrapped one around mine, and said something like, 'look! This is my size, does it fit you?' And she put it on."

"It was too big, so I resized it for her finger. Then I tossed it on the table, and when she wasn't looking, I slipped it in my pocket."

"Took it with me to the jeweler and the ring was the perfect size come the day."

"It's not uncommon for me to be fidgety and play with things on the table, so the napkin holder game wasn't unusual for us and I still have one of the first napkin rings from one of our first dates in my memory box."

- SpriteMonkey

Bag Of Fakes

"My mother inherited a whole pile of costume jewelry, in a variety of sizes, because Grandma had the habit of wearing rings on multiple fingers."

"So I asked Mom if she'd give me some so I could do some intel and see if any of it appealed to my (soon to be) wife."

"We tried everything on and I paid attention to what fit where and what styles she gravitated towards. Wifey didn't like much of it since she has a very different style than gran did - and not much of what she liked fit, but there were a few pieces and I got the info I needed."

"Turns out she has exactly the same ring size I do."

"Oh, and when I went to give all the unwanted stuff back to my mother? 'No takebacks, it's your problem now!' So I have a gallon bag of fake jewelry in a closet."

- technos

The Stand In

"You are doing this wrong. Get a cheap plastic ring. Propose. Then go together and find something nice you both enjoy. She might not even want diamonds so if she can pick anything that’s great!"

"My wife is really in to lord of the rings so I got her a prop of the one ring and used that. She loves it and will still wear it from time to time."

- Mathrinofeve

"My husband proposed with a plastic Batman ring and we picked out a ring together afterwards."

- hey_sjay

"Propose with candy ring. let her chomp on that bad boy while waiting for the ring she likes."

- Illustrious-Hat8029

Alright, now that you've heard what Reddit has to say - here's my biggest piece of advice:

Chillax.

Stress is what gets people busted every single time.