Most of us are all suckers for a flashy romantic gesture. Usually, the most romantic stories focus on a magical fairytale wedding. However, I personally think that there's nothing more charmingly romantic than a juicy proposal.
Over the years, I've come across countless brilliantly planned marriage proposal ideas. Some people have thought up absolutely ridiculous ways to propose, like this man who surprised his girlfriend with an epic in-flight singing proposal.
But I must say, recent groom-to-be Justin Lebon came up with the best proposal idea I've ever seen: On Christmas morning, he proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Michal Ott, in a most ingenious way.
Inspired by Michal's love for Monopoly, Justin set out to work with his buddy Mark Becker, a designer and craftsman. Using redwood that dated back to the early 1900s, and the power of graphic design, the pair built a fascinating custom board game set.
But it doesn't stop there. Justin decided to be a little extra discreet, and ended up hiding the ring in the most perfect place you could imagine…
Scroll further to see the complete process leading up to the beautiful proposal, and let us know what you think in the comments below!
For years, Justin had known that his girlfriend Michal was the one. So, a few months before Christmas, he started preparing for his grand proposal. Drawing inspiration from Michal's favorite board game, he set out to custom design a Monopoly board with very special interactive components.
Together with his good friend and craftsman, Justin built his board with an old redwood icebox from the early 1900s.
He also printed out special property, chance, and community chest cards. These were totally personalized to reflect the young couple's life together.
Take this one chance card, for example. It would play a crucial role leading up to the proposal...
After printing the cards out on thick card stock, the pair started painting the designs onto the redwood board.
They made special gold house and hotel figurines, as well as personalized tokens.
Once finished, the board was all wrapped up, and set on the table on Christmas Eve.
And, voilà! Here is the finished product in its full glory on Christmas morning.
Michal was astounded by the gift. First, she was taken on a little tour around all the stops on the board.
The names on the spaces featured places that held sentimental value to the couple, such as the streets they each grew up on.
Other places included their favorite vacation locales, such as Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada, and spots in Hawaii.
It also featured two properties entitled "Home Sweet Home" and "Apt. 196," their first home together. But between both properties was a very special space, "Luxury Tax," which held a wonderful surprise...
When they began to play, Michal got the first roll — but little did she know that Justin had designed the dice so that it would roll 7; Michal would be forced to pull the first "Chance" card. That's when she saw Justin's loving proposal.
Moments later, Justin got down on one knee, pulled a long wire key from his pocket, and unlocked the "secret door" underneath the "Luxury Tax" space...
...and revealed where he'd been hiding the ring all along! He quickly slipped the ring on her finger — and what a perfect fit it was!
What a terrific way to plan a proposal. Justin put a lot of hard work into building the board, but in the end, created an exquisite memory for his love.
Please SHARE if you were touched by how hard this groom-to-be worked on planning his proposal, and if you thought the finished product was absolutely genius!
