Panera Bread is Rising to the Valentine’s Proposal Occasion
Proposing at a restaurant has long been the popular choice for men and women getting ready to ask that all-important, pre-I Do inquiry of their love, and since it’s Valentine’s Day, you can be sureeee every nice eating establishment is getting ready for at least ONE proposal during dinner service tonight. But what about the fast casj cuisiniers? Do they have the same expectations for Cupid’s day? Wouldn’t think so… but this year, things might be different. Because Panera Bread, our favorite bakery-cafe - with the world’s most amazing Passion Papaya Iced Green Tea (literally, I dream of this drink) - is encouraging loyal patrons to pop the question in their locations across the country. Only for Valentine’s Day, when there’s as much love in the air as there are aromas of broccoli cheddar soup. Duh
Btw, on the topic of alternative engagement ideas. This Target engagement photo session is officially THE CUTEST.
So what do you ‘win’ for getting engaged at Panera today? Well, you’re entered to win one of five FREE catering packages from them for your wedding day. Valued at up to $2,000. That’s a lot of You Pick 2’s for your guests. Yum.
Now, it’s not exactly a five-star, celebrity-catered chef-y experience, sure, but for anyone who loves Panera that much. It’s a pretty good deal. Me and my hubby had one of our first dates at a Panera, right before going to see Benchwarmers at the movie theaters - circa 2006 - so it does have some sentimental meaning for us. I can only imagine similarly nostalgic situations for other couples, potential high school sweethearts, who aren’t yet engaged… so a proposal there isn’t totally out of the realm of possibility.
Here’s what you have to do… and oh, you have until 11:59PM ET tonight to do it.
Get engaged at or in front of Panera and you need to accept the proposal. So taking one look at your baguette engagement ring and deciding that an actual baguette is better won’t work …..
Post a pic of it on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #PaneraProposalSweeps.
Who can qualify
You must be over the 18, a legal U.S. resident (excluding those living in Alaska Hawaii, Montana, Utah or Wyoming, since these states prohibit the sweepstakes by law), and have an active social media account. So, you can’t just create an Insta page, post one pic, and expect to cash in on the goodies….
Panera will be picking five entries at random following the 11:59PM deadline this evening, and will let the newly-betrothed brides and grooms to be know whether they’ve won in the five days following the sweeps. It’ll come by way of a message slid into your DMs from the soup chefs themselves.
And if you’re among the lucky winners, well, just be prepared to get married by the end of next year (December 31, 2019 - to be exact). The catering offer will only stands until then. You’ll also just need to make sure where you’re having your reception is within 30 miles of a Panera restaurant. So, keep that in mind when you’re scouting venues.
We’ve been stalking the hashtag like crazy ALLLLL day, and haven’t spotted a proposal yet, but we’re holding our breath. Perhaps lunch wasn’t a great time, maybe we’ll see more during the afternoon coffee run. @starbucks, idea for National Proposal Day next month?!!?!
At least today is Turkey Chili day… That might change some minds of those on the fence… Whatever happens, we’ll just be sipping on some Valentine’s Day cocktails and keeping tabs on operation Panera proposal all day. 😉
Front page, lead photo from @cambriaferguson.