I think it's mean of the waitress to make fun of couples who get engaged there. But it's perfectly fine for some people to feel like it's too public for a proposal.
In my family, a place like The Olive Garden is considered an expensive treat reserved for special occasions, so for some of us, that might actually be considered a pretty fancy place (I totally agree with you, Simple Sheep, that the waitress was wrong to put down people who saw it as the place where they wanted to propose.)
And I just wanted to say that on the flip side, I don't see anything wrong with saving for or being able to afford "higher level" places either. I'm a firm believer that God has given us all talents and places in society where we can meet and serve many different kinds of people. I'm sure there are many fine Christians working in the jewelry, bridal, and fine dining industry that need customers and a paycheck, too (and the Bible says that a good worker should be paid fairly.)
I'm all for people saving up for and achieving their dreams.
But the one thing that drives me crazy is when people don't understand that different people value different things at different levels, and that can be perfectly ok, even as a Christian. For instance, some people might unfairly judge those wanting a more ritzy setting as being materialistic or only caring about money, which might not be true.
I tend to value experiences more than material things, so my preference would be to pick out an amazingly beautiful imitation stone ring, but then save the money to have an incredible honeymoon for as long as we could be away and would remember for the rest of our lives.
But I also don't think there's anything wrong with the couple who decides on and saves for the $2000 ring and upscale country club proposal either -- after all, when Abraham's servant Eliezer gave Isaac's future wife, Rebekah, a set of jewelry (which even included a nose ring) for watering his camels, I'm pretty sure it was the best of the best that any money (or livestock) could buy.
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