Toronto Star
Mario Britz beat out nearly 80 other people who competed for the chance to pop the question on the Toronto Star’s front page Thursday.
Thursday at 8:30 a.m., the Star’s David Graham reports, Britz planned to “pop the question to an unsuspecting Lynette (Qian) Gao at Thornhill’s Java Shop Eatery where the couple often meet for quiet moments together.” Planning the proposal took weeks, Graham writes, “with secret interviews and photo shoots kept under wraps to ensure the Valentine’s Day surprise wasn’t spoiled.”
This morning, Britz made an extra effort to keep Gao away from social media sites such as Facebook where friends and co-workers might accidentally share news of the plans.
Apart from Star staff, the only other people in on the surprise were Gao’s father, who is visiting from China, and Derek, now 22.
The Star posted a video of Britz’s big moment. Gao’s reaction is somewhat understated, in that she flips through the paper after looking at the front page. What’d she say? Go to the Star, you’re not that busy!
Last year Drake Martinet, then an employee of All Things Digital, proposed to Mashable’s Stacy Green by way of infographic. The couple publicly consummated their marriage with an animated GIF.