I would be happy to share my reasoning on this.
First, I will say that I don't think the public proposal is a good idea for EVERYBODY. I think you need to carefully weigh the personality of the woman involved to make sure this is a good idea. Also, although I do consider this a public proposal, it's not going to be at the scale of a packed arena.
(/Popcorn)
My girlfriend and I met 8 years ago, but spent about 2-3 years as friends. I was attracted to her, but I was relatively shy and reserved and never "went for it," so our relationship never escalated beyond friendship at that time. We are both very music-oriented people, so we spent a lot of time listening to music together, discovering new artists, and going to shows. At the time, neither of us really had any other friends who were into the same indie rock type music that we liked, so it was something that we had to ourselves.
Around this time, I started dating another girl. As sometimes happens when you have a significant other, I started spending less time with my friend and we drifted apart. Fast forward three years: I am single again, and randomly get a call from my old friend. We make plans to go have drinks and catch up. The night goes so well that we make plans for the following night. This date ends with me sleeping over and the "just friends" category is over.
Now, fast forward three more years: we have lived together about two years, bought a home together 8 months ago, and I know it is time to propose. The ring is on hold, and all I need is the perfect romantic occasion to pop the question.
I got an e-mail that one of our favorite singers is playing a show about 20 minutes from our home. This is unusual because he lives in San Francisco and very rarely do artists we like come this far into south Florida. (Most of them are independent and don't attract large crowds, so they stick to the music hotspots like Nashville, Austin, Seattle, etc.) This particular musician happens to be one that we both listened to together during our "first relationship," and I had introduced her to his music.
I was able to get in touch with this musician and explained the significance of his music to our relationship, and he agreed to allow me to come on stage and propose during his concert. This show is being held in a small, intimate venue, just like the ones we have visited dozens of times together, the artist is one we have both loved for years, and I will be able to dedicate her favorite song to her that he's never played live in the three other times we have attended his show.
(/Popcorn)
So, in this particular situation, with this particular woman, and with our particular relationship history, I feel that this is a meaningful idea that would mean more to her than just bringing her to The Melting Pot on Valentine's Day and hiding the ring in the desert, or whatever a generic private proposal would be.
Flamesuit on!