One animator found the perfect way to pop the question to his longtime girlfriend — and it is setting the bar pretty high for any couple who loves a grand gesture!
When animator Lee Loechler bought movie tickets for a relaxed night out, his then girlfriend Stuthi David thought it was just a simple date night.
As far as David knew, Loechler had scored tickets to a throwback screening of her favorite Disney flick, Sleeping Beauty — little did she know this was no coincidence.
The Timeless Magic of Disney
Massachusetts couple Lee Loechler and Stuthi David were high school sweethearts who fatefully split up after going their separate ways for college; then they found their way back to each other a decade later.
"My girlfriend and I were high school sweethearts. We split up when we moved away for college, but, through freak happenstance, reconnected ten years later and got back together.”
Lee Loechler
Loechler knew that Sleeping Beauty was one of his girlfriend's favorite comfort movies and no matter how tired she was from work, she wouldn't be able to resist.
Thankfully she said "yes"...or at least...she was about to!
No matter how many times David had re-watched Sleeping Beauty as a kid, there was a big twist ending she never saw coming!
And thankfully, Loechler made sure to record the whole thing!
He Spent a Year Planning His Proposal
With the help of illustrator, Kayla Coombs (@kaylacoombs) Loechler found the best way to put a modern twist on this 1959 classic film.
Together, the creatives came up with a clever scheme to make the big moment as awesome as possible.
Yes, "Aurora" and "Prince Philip" were redesigned to look just like Loechler and David!
Over a grueling 6 months, Coombs and Loechler re-animated the film's most iconic scene: when Sleeping Beauty is woken up from her slumber with a kiss from the prince.
Then, they switched out the original scene for Coombs' version and the result may be even better than the original!
"I thought there was something wrong with the movie!"
Stuthi David
At first David can tell something is off when the Prince goes to wakeup Aurora. She knows something is going on but she doesn't know what, and when she finally figures it out...her reaction is priceless.
Watch Lee Loechler's Video:
The animated Loechler playfully "tosses" a box off screen — which the real-life Loechler "catches."
It's then that he pops the most important question of all and after saying "yes," the next thing David said may be even better.
The cardiologist quickly realized a bunch of strangers were sitting in on her big special moment...or were they?
When She Turned Around She Saw All Their Friends and Family
Loechler knew he'd have to be sneaky if he was going to try and get a fast one on David. So he posted a Reddit thread and asked a bunch of random strangers to fill a few seats around David and himself to act as a "buffer."
Loechler had reserved over half the seats for their friends and family but wanted them to be hidden in the crowd.
"Oh my God, these poor people!" David exclaims in the video referring to the audience members.
A second later, she turns around to see all the audience members are actually not strangers at all, but her friends and family!
“The only thing better than seeing the smartest person I know completely dumbfounded was knowing we’d get to live happily ever after together.”
Lee Loechler
Just when she thought the moment couldn't get any better, it did.
Everyone’s “Knight in Shining Armor” Looks Different
It's safe to say, while this fairytale proposal was perfect for this couple, not everyone wants such a grand gesture and that's perfectly OK.
“She loves this sort of thing. She knows a proposal is coming, it’s the ‘how’ that’s the real surprise.”
Lee Loechler, Reddit
Big moments come in all shapes and sizes. Every love story is romantic in its own way — the most important thing is that we celebrate our loved ones the way they want to be celebrated.
For high school sweethearts Lee Loechler and Stuthi David, this nostalgic proposal was perfect for them.
So as long as you know what's right for you, you can't miss.
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