Shine OnMan proposes to girlfriend with children’s story book
While writing a children's storybook as part of a marriage proposal may seem over-the-top, the most recent man to do it isn't the first.
North Carolina man Paul Phillips posted an illustration and explanation of his storybook marriage proposal on Reddit on Monday. Since then, the post has gone viral, with over 20,000 comments and more than 46,000 upvotes.
He explains how he wrote, illustrated and printed a children's storybook he then put on the shelf at a local library, Southern Pines Public Library.
Also see: Cute library proposal has storybook ending
"I had her stumble across it at the library and read it to me," Phillip writes on Reddit about his proposal this past Saturday to girlfriend Erika Ramosthis. "When she got to the right page, I got on my knee and asked if she would marry me. She never saw it coming."
He told her a few weeks ago that he wanted to wine and dine her and told her to get dressed up for Saturday night.
"I then rented some books from the library early that week with the due date on the proposal day. So we had to go drop the books off before dinner," he explains.
On their way to the library just a few minutes they arrived, photographer Laura Ingram put the book on a shelf in the children's section. Phillips and Ramos often peruse the children's section for about an hour to find books for her nieces and nephews, so it was not unusual for them.
Also see: Man's creative proposal using bedsheets
"Laura waited in the shadows pretending to read books," he explains. "When we started reading, Laura crawled on her hands and knees to get the shots."
The story features a gorilla (Phillips) and a giraffe (Ramos) who share a picnic, visit an aquarium and then fall in love.
"She loves giraffes. We spend a lot of time going to zoos and it is her favorite part. I am clumsy and big like a gorilla," he says.
The proposal was a costly endeavour, totalling close to $1,000 for 10 copies of the book. Additional copies are for their future children.
"It was pretty expensive, but worth every penny. I was paying for a memory that will last us a lifetime."
