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marriage proposal

Lee Loechler's incredible "Sleeping Beauty" proposal.

There are creative, romantic proposals, and then there's this one.

Lee Loechler recently proposed to his girlfriend, Sthuthi David, by taking her to a packed theater to see her favorite Disney movie, Sleeping Beauty. Little did she know that Loechler had spent six months altering the animation of the film's most iconic scene, changing the characters to look like the couple themselves and altering the storyline to set up his Big Question. And that's only the beginning.

Watching David's face during the scene change is sheer delight, as her confused look proves that she has no clue what is about to happen.


The set-up is great, but the magical moment when Loechler's illustrated self tosses the engagement ring to his real-life self? That's when we all toss up our hands and say, "OKAY, man. You win at proposing. Everyone else must bow before you now."

The whole proposal—the re-illustrations, the heart jokes (David is a cardiologist), and the bride-to-be's surprise when she finds herself surrounded by friends and family—it's all perfection. Just watch:

Amazing, right? Lee Loechler set the bar ridiculously high, but even the most cynical among us have to give him props for his creativity.

Reddit users' responses to the video were hilarious, and reflect what we all feel watching this masterpiece.

"Welp this guy went and did it, theres no point in any of us proposing now he's out done us all." - XXLpeanuts

"I was just gonna propose to my girlfriend in the Starbucks parking lot where I first told her I loved her. Welp, that ain't gonna do anymore..." - mattrva

"I proposed to my wife in front of Disney Castle in Orlando and I've never felt less proud about it than after watching this video lol. For real though this is one of the best proposals I've ever seen, bravo." - thenaniwatiger

"I thought I was smooth with my bridge and lilyponds on a blacksand beach in Hawaii..... this guy just went and rewrote theatrical history, broke the forth wall, made a 4th dimensional joke and timed it perfectly, made a highbrow doctors joke, conspired with the internet, and filled a theater with family and friends." - ooooopium

"Goddamn I am cold, cynical bastard and you just warmed my heart with how hard you just crushed it, my dude. I'll say it. I am flat out envious." - Dr_Frasier_Bane

Congratulations and best wishes to the lovely couple. May you truly live happily ever after.


This article originally appeared on 01.09.20

When Becky McCabe proposed to her girlfriend, Jessa Gillaspie, she had no idea that her response would be ... pretty darn remarkable.

It all went down at the Memphis Zoo, the location of the couple's first date. Bringing friends along to capture the moment, McCabe had arranged for one of her friends to capture the proposal on video. But, as she knelt down to propose, the response from her girlfriend wasn't what she expected.


Gillaspie laughed and turned to pull out her own engagement ring for McCabe. She'd planned to propose to the love of her life that day, too.

There were tears of joy. Lots of them.

[rebelmouse-image 19494243 dam="1" original_size="735x681" caption="Image via CBS News/Twitter." expand=1]Image via CBS News/Twitter.

Is that not the most heartwarming response to "Will you marry me?" ever?!

The world is in awe at the beautiful, adorable, downright loving proposal.  

The responses to the video show just how important representation is and that lifelong love for queer couple is possible.

The number of same-sex marriages has continued to rise throughout the U.S. since it was legalized in 2015, as have the positive responses to queer couples.

Still, that representation sometimes doesn't make its way into mainstream culture. The Trump administration continues to try and roll back LBGTQ rights, including protection for LGBTQ workers, and removing LGBTQ-friendly language from government documents. Wedding companies still cater to straight couples, queer individuals struggles to navigate their way through dating spaces, and same-sex couples often find few examples of themselves in television and in pop culture.

But, that's slowly changing, and it's extremely important that queer young people know that love is possible.

Love is often the thing that moves us forward. If these lovebirds are any indication, our world is doing just that.

They didn't expect it, but Mark and Andrew's marriage proposal pics have made a big splash in Australia.

They're in the first wave of couples who have decided to tie the knot in the wake of Australia's vote on marriage equality. The way Mark went about pulling off his proposal to Andrew, however, stands out from the rest in a pretty adorable fashion.

Mark (left) and his now-fiancé, Andrew. Photo courtesy of Mark Keevers.


The day after Australia's same-sex marriage survey results were announced, Andrew had a water polo match with his team, the Melbourne Surge. When the game ended, Mark approached Andrew poolside and wrapped him in a big rainbow towel as one of the couple's favorite songs, Jess Glynn’s "Hold My Hand," began playing.

"We wake up to that song every day," Mark told the Star Observer. "Wherever we go we always hold hands because we both love each other, and we’re proud of that."

Then, the couple's loved ones — who were waiting in the stands — began pulling out large photographs of Mark and Andrew.

Photo courtesy of Mark Keevers.

And Andrew's teammates unveiled the cheekiest part of the proposal: swimsuit bottoms that spelled out "Marry me?"

Photo courtesy of Mark Keevers.

"Waterpolo is [Andrew's] life, and the mates that play are his pseudo-family considering his immediate family live in New Zealand," Mark says. "I knew I had to involve them."

That's when Mark got down on one knee and asked the big question.

Andrew, as the delightful photos suggest, said "yes."

Photo courtesy of Mark Keevers.

The charming proposal has gone global in large part because of its timing.

While Mark and Andrew knew they wanted to get hitched — and they technically could have in Andrew's home country of New Zealand, where marriage equality has existed legally since 2013 — the proposal was particularly special having happened on Nov. 16, 2017, in Australia, the day after the country voted overwhelmingly in favor of marriage equality in a mail-in survey.

The vote itself doesn't legalize same-sex marriage, but the results pave the way; Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said a parliamentary vote should decide the matter by Christmas.

"We both shed a tear during the marriage equality announcement as it was such a relief that we all can, pending the government's commitment to legislating change, now marry the person we love," Mark says.

He understands their engagement doesn't just mark a personal moment of love; it reflects a larger societal shift that's worth celebrating: "We're more than happy for the attention if it helps tell the story of Australia's acceptance and validation of marriage equality." ❤️