It is a very respectful gesture, which will never be forgotten by the parents. “Permission” rarely enters into it anymore.
Six years ago, our daughter was enthralled to have met a guy who is the polar opposite of the self-centered jackass she had married (and divorced) several years before.
The New Guy was in Belgium, earning some kind of advanced engineering degree, and emailed us, asking if he could call us on the upcoming Saturday. We knew that this could only mean one thing….and it did.
She was visiting him at the time, and he called from a restaurant Men’s Room, the only place he could think of where she couldn’t overhear the call (you could hear toilets flushing in the background the whole time…..ha ha).
Anyway, he said he was about to go back to the table and propose to her, but first wanted to get our thoughts.
Respect. It is considered antiquated by many, but will always matter.
It was in no way expected…...but we will never forget it…..