One of my uncles told a story at my grandpa's wake. He was asking the same, for a blessing to propose. Granddad responded by sarcastically asking "what if I say no?"

Way he tells it, he joked back that he'd probably ask her anyway, and with that he had the go-ahead. They're retired, and still married.

Show a little resilience and humor, is my advice. Some families just want to know you can hang with the jokes - though I can't vouch for the quality of the humor, the willingness to laugh things off is rarely misplaced.