The way to fourth grade teacher Mandy Toombs' heart is through her students.
When her boyfriend Justin Coats was planning to pop the question on September 25, he made sure to include her students -- past and present -- in the proposal.
"I knew I wanted to propose at her school, some way, somehow and let the kids be a part of it all," Justin told The Huffington Post. "That's what means more than anything to her -- her kids."
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It took three months for Justin to orchestrate the proposal. First he emailed all of their family and friends, asking them to record a short video telling Mandy to "say yes!"
He also called the principal at South Boston Elementary School, where his now-fiancée works, to tell him about the proposal. The plan was to compile the clips from their family and friends and surprise Mandy with the video at school.
On that special day in September, the principal called Mandy into his office, allowing Justin enough time to set up everything in the classroom and leave before she came back in.
When she returned, she and all 42 of her students -- her morning class and her afternoon class -- watched the sweet proposal video together.
Mandy was shocked. That's when Justin and three of her former students walked into the room holding a banner that read, "Miss Toombs, will you be Mrs. Coats?" The answer -- of course -- was "yes!"
"Although all my students are very special to me, these three boys hold a very special place in my heart," Mandy told HuffPost. "They come to my class each morning to say 'hello', tell me 'bye' before they leave school. Justin and I go to their football games and they come to me with any problems or anything that is bothering them. To have Justin make those three boys a part of my big day, it put the icing on the cake."
Mandy also told HuffPost that her fourth graders were beyond excited to be a part of it all.
"Some were crying, others were jumping with joy," she said. "To this day, the students talk about it. They even ask me every week, 'can we watch the video again?'"
After the proposal, Mandy received many emails from parents thanking her for allowing their kids to be involved.
The happy couple first met in July 2012 -- Coats was DJing at a bar in Semora, North Carolina one night and Mandy was there as the designated driver for a group of her friends. Although Mandy said she "wasn't looking for anyone" at the time, the pair hit it off and went out on their first date the following night.
To see Justin and Mandy's A+ proposal unfold, watch the video above.
H/T ABC News
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