Shine OnCute library proposal has storybook ending
Cutest proposal ever?
Chicago ad executive Jason Methner and his girlfriend, Molly Lipsitz, both love books and libraries. So when it came time for Methner to propose, he knew the Harold Washington Library Centre in Chicago would be the perfect place to do it.
"I knew I wanted to propose in a creative way and that I wanted it to be a surprise," Methner tells TODAY.com, "so there was a flash of the dramatic involved."
On March 22, Methner arranged for Lipsitz and a friend to get manicures, knowing that the next day would likely require Lipsitz to have photos taken of her hand — with a ring on her finger.
On March 23, he told "a lie" to convince Lipsitz to find a 20-page children's book, titled A Hare-y Tale, in the library's stacks.
He said the book had been written by one of his author friends. Lipsitz immediately noticed that no author's name was printed on the cover.
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As Lipsitz flipped through its pages, she recognized certain details: the name of her hometown, a sketch of their dog, and references to many of the activities they'd done together in their more than four years together.
Even the main character, Bunny, was much like her beloved stuffed bunny from childhood.
On the second last page, the book read: "Although we don’t often run at same pace, do you want to slow down and spend the rest of your life with me?"
The last page let Lipsitz choose the ending: "And Bunny said…"
"The book is a parable of our relationship," Lipsitz explains. "From when we met, a bit about our lives, and the things we did together. In the book he proposed to me, and then he proposed for real."
As Methner got down on one knee, a portrait and wedding photographer Aparna Paul Jain popped out of the shelves to snap the moment of engagement.
Lipsitz said yes.
"I have known Molly for a few years now, and when Jason thought about this idea he asked me if I could photograph it. There was no way I was going to miss it," Jain tells the Toronto Star in an email. "I think it played out really well."
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Jain's photos were posted on the Chicago Public Library's Facebook page.
"I didn’t cry. That's not really my style," Lipsitz tells the Toronto Star. "I was just totally surprised and shocked in a good way. It was an amazingly thoughtful and creative proposal and in an unexpected place."
Methner made five more copies of the book, which he had illustrated by his friend Yoni Limor, for their families.
"Her family is in Atlanta and mine's in Houston, so having something tangible to show them about the day was a really neat takeaway, and I would love for our children to read [the book] someday and have it as a keepsake," Methner tells TODAY.com.
While feedback on the cute and creative proposal from the couple's female friends has been overwhelmingly positive, some male friends aren't impressed with the over-the-top effort, Methner admits.
"Most women have been very flattering to me with compliments about my creativity,"he says. "But a lot of men, especially in my friends’ group, have given me the eye roll…like, thanks for setting the bar so high."
