As a disc jockey, Scotty Brooks is used to playing up the element of surprise.
This past Sunday he perfected it in a marriage proposal for his girlfriend Dianne that can best be described as sketchy.
Brooks, a DJ for 100.5 The Drive in Rochester, had an ingenious idea to propose to Dianne via a caricature artist.
"I was trying to think of something different to do [for a proposal], said Brooks, who has dated Dianne for about three years. "She has a love of pictures and things to hang up on the wall so I asked myself 'What can I do so she has a physical memory of that day?''
Brooks came up with his caricature idea and then got sneaky.
He found the perfect spot to propose -- the gardens of the historic Ellwanger Estate in Rochester -- and found a caricature artist who was willing to play along. The caricature artist was Dave Bippy Boyer from Rochester, NY.
But, how could he explain to Dianne that a caricature artist would randomly be waiting for them at the gardens when they arrived for a Sunday stroll?
He couldn't.
So he told her his radio station was offering free caricatures that day for all Clear Channel Media employees and their families as a promotion. He also told his co-workers his plan so they could play along if she asked them about the caricatures.
Dianne fell for it.
The couple arrived for their "scheduled" sit down with the caricature artist and posed for fifteen minutes as he sketched them -- adding a big ring and a "Will you marry me?" bubble.
They were the longest fifteen minutes of Brooks' life and then, were followed by the longest ten seconds as the artist presented the sketch to them and Dianne looked at it not quite comprehending.
"Are you serious?" she finally asked.
When Brooks answered by getting down on one knee, she knew the answer.
And he already knew hers.