Leicester's BEST ever proposal!

​Last week, whilst researching what had been going on in the wedding world I stumbled across a video….what made the video stand out was the fact that it was shot in my hometown of Leicester. So I started to watch….as Bruno Mars began to sing ‘I think I want to marry you’, I sat back and watched what lead me to tears of pure joy.
 
In a world where all everyone seems to talk about is terrorism, Trump and Brexit this ballsy guy reduced me to tears of happiness! And I’m not the only one who is feeling the love! With over 6 Million views the video has now gone viral and has been picked up by numerous news channels.
 
After watching the proposal I just had to find out more and so off I went to meet Roxanne Gyles and Matthew Brookes to find out what it takes to create Leicester’s BEST EVER proposal!
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​After being school friends aged 11 Matthew and Roxanne lost contact for over 10 years, finally meeting again in 2013 when Matthew was running the Prince of Wales pub. And so the love story begins…

​​Matthew explained that the reason he wanted to propose to Roxanne in such a public way was to create a memory that forever would be looked back on…if your going to propose why not go big! And so with the help of friends and family the planning began. Matthew explained that from start to finish the surprise took just 4 weeks to plan. Amazingly the only people who were not in on the plan were the couple’s children Alyssa and Lewis both aged 8 who were clearly as baffled as Roxanne herself!
 
Matthews 1st choice of venue was local beauty spot Bradgate Park as this venue holds special memories for them both after an unplanned evening trek in the dark ( but that’s another story! ) but this left him with the problem of actually getting Roxanne there in the 1st place. And so after approaching the Highcross in Leicester plans really started to come together. With the help of friends and family Matthews’s idea was really going to happen!
 
And so on 30th December 2016 it was all systems go…unbeknown to Roxanne this is!

​​After shopping in the City Centre the couple then walked through the food court of the Highcross where displayed on the electronic billboard was a picture of Roxanne and Matthew…Roxanne admits that even at this point she did not realise what was going on. Even daughter Alyssa was amazed and bewildered as to why a picture of Matthew and her Mum was displayed for all to see. It’s only after Roxanne spotted friends and family that things started to drop into place.
 
Matthew admits that he didn’t want the proposal to just be about arranging a dance group and playing a song, he really wanted to get involved and so even trained with the dance group ER (although not for 4 weeks as certain media resource state) which Matthew admits was an issue in itself as he had to cancel dinner plans with Roxanne and fake sickness to keep the whole thing a secret!
 
But credit where credit is due…he pulled it off! And boy was it a proposal. 

​​Both Matthew and Roxanne have been overwhelmed by the response that they have had since posting the video online last week. The loved up couple have even had well wishes from places as far away as the Philippines, Malawi and Thailand. But with all things that are put out into the public domain…they have also had their share of trolls.
 
Roxanne admits that to start with the things people were saying were upsetting but after seeing that Matthew found the comments amusing, soon laughed along….being called a prize plonker was one of Matthews’s most amusing comments. And really….how can anyone not LOVE that video??

​​I can honestly say it was an absolute pleasure to have been able to meet this fab couple. Matthews’s creative genius is now going to be pushed to the max if he’s to outdo himself ever again! But I have faith…and can’t wait to see what he pulls out of the bag….The couple plan to wed in 2019 after taking a year out to have a baby…so Matthew, you have plenty of time to plan!
 
Huge congratulations from not only Love Photography 13 Weddings but from the whole of Leicester!!

The couple would like to thank the Highcross Leicester, Carlucci’s Restaurant, ER Dance group, CMW Sound Systems and all the friends, family and viewers of the video.
 
​A special shout out to their gorgeous children Alyssa and Lewis.

To watch the video please click HERE 

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