Back in the day, proposing to someone was a very basic task. Just go down on your knee and pop the question. But then Bollywood happened and then the bar for asking one’s hand in marriage kept going higher and higher. Then those reel proposals were topped by some real life ones, that ranged from faking one’s death to directing a whole trailer for that purpose. And just when you thought you’d seen enough, this UK romantic took the art of proposing a notch higher.
Edward Fraser from Norwich UK, proposed his girlfriend in the most cryptic but adorable way possible- by designing a crossword puzzle exclusively for her.
According to the Indian Express, Fraser took the help of the Eastern Daily Press, and spent three months preparing this proposal for his girlfriend, Rachel Herman. Considering how they both loved solving puzzles together, he provided the local newspaper with information based on stuff from their relationship. This involved clues from Harry Potter and their time spent together in Fiji, and more.
While the entire puzzle was orchestrated around their relationship, the final riddle that sealed the deal literally hinted that it was a question of love. And Herman guessed correctly as “Will you marry me?” After she accepted his offer, Fraser said,
“It was quite hard initially as I was trying to think of really cool clues. But I started off with a grid in excel and I was sticking in letters and black squares to make the crossword. I had the random answers ready and just started to backwards to make the clues.”
Considering how unique this approach was, Herman was obviously taken by surprise.
“To be honest I got a couple of clues and doing the dividing lines I had solved it in my head. I thought in my head does that mean ‘will you marry me’? And then the heart was pounding because I thought ‘was this for me?’ But I didn’t say anything because I just wanted to be sure.”
If you’re finding yourself tearing up while reading this, please let the waterworks flow because this story deserves such an emotional reaction. We wish the couple lots of love and an eternity of togetherness.