Shine OnOntario man creates special TV Jumble puzzle to propose to wordsmith girlfriend
If men keep upping the creative proposal ante like this, soon would-be Romeos will have to commission a NASA space shuttle to write “Will You Marry Me” across the cosmos in order to compete.
The latest romantic to add to the recent spate of amazing proposals is Mississauga, Ont. IT worker James Dunn, who created his own Starweek TV Jumble puzzle with a question that asked his girlfriend, Stephanie Bandurka, to become his wife.
Bandurka, also 24, is a huge word puzzle fan and her beloved thought she would get a kick out of solving the most meaningful jumble of her young existence.
As the Toronto Star reports, 24-year-old Dunn pulled off this feat by contacting the Chicago-based Jumble creator, David Hoyt, to ask if he could commission a special version of the weekly puzzle that appears in the paper’s weekly TV listings insert.
Hoyt agreed and collaborated with illustrator Jeff Knurek, who drew a cartoon portrait of the couple sitting on their living room sofa to accompany the puzzle.
Also see: Cute library proposal has storybook ending
The team created a special puzzle whose caption read: “After she was done solving the puzzle he said…” The four jumbled words contained circled letters that spelled out: “Will you marry me?"
Dunn also sourced the same newsprint used by Star publishers to make the copy look authentic. He obtained a pdf copy of the upcoming May 4 – 10 edition of Starweek, sent the doctored puzzle off to a custom printer and spent three “stressful” days before all elements of the plot came together perfectly.
Hoyt was so inspired by Dunn’s actions that he didn’t charge him for the customized puzzle, which would normally run around $600 all-in.
“I’m happy to be part of it,” Hoyt tells the Toronto Star. “I absolutely wouldn’t have charged for something like that. James did go through a lot of work. I normally would charge, but I’m a romantic and they are so darn cute.”
When the wordsmith finished solving her weekly puzzle on Friday night, Dunn was prepared.
Also see: Awe-inspiring Iron Man-themed marriage proposal
He pulled out a ring, got down on one knee and brought the puzzle to life.
Naturally, Bandurka said yes.
“Here I thought I was going to have a nice quiet evening, watch some TV and just do my puzzles. Boy, was I wrong,” the overjoyed nurse tells the Star.
The happy couple joins the ranks of soon-to-be-betrothed proposal all-stars like Jason Methner and Molly Lipsitz, who got engaged after the Chicago man created a "will you marry me" children’s book and placed it in the Chicago Public Library last month for his girlfriend to find.
And though Dunn’s efforts were outstanding, the most Canadian proposal of all time still belongs to Jeff Chapman, who used a Tim Hortons Roll Up the Rim cup to give now-fiancee Jaimie Baisley the best prize of her life.
