By “derelict construction materials” are you referring to the Capitol stones??

I’m surprised so many people disagree. It’s such a patriarchal tradition. There’s nothing equivalent or even similar involving the mothers or women.

As a side topic, do people really still do the whole “ask for his blessing” thing? Seems awkward and uncomfortable to me. As a dad of two girls, if either of their partners approached me like this, I’d feel awkward, like it’s not really my business. My daughters happiness and consent is all that’s necessary here and I’m certainly not a gatekeeper on that. I’d probably be thrilled to get to know their partner better on a personal level if I knew there was a long term commitment but the whole “asking for blessing” part seems unnecessary to me. And for me, probably an activity like hiking or going to a ball game or something of that nature would be preferred. Just my two cents - good luck and congrats on your proposal!