When Mike Croft proposed getting a caricature done with his girlfriend, Nancy Stanley, she never suspected it would end in an actual marriage proposal.
Croft took Stanley to the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival where he asked her to sit for a portrait together. But instead of featuring the couple, the finished picture was just of Croft, on one knee, holding an engagement ring.
Even though a speech bubble had the words “Will you marry me?” it took Stanley over a minute to realize what was going on, because she confused the ring in the picture with something else.
"I thought, 'How does the artist know Mike so well?' I thought he had a tequila bottle in his hand,” laughed Stanley.
The artist, Simon Glassman, had to hold the drawing closer and closer to Stanley until she realized what was happening.
"I think she thought it was a tequila bottle,” says Glassman. “She was like, 'Why are you offering me a tequila bottle?' But then she looked closer and realized she was going to have a husband."
Shortly after Stanley had a closer look at the caricature, Croft produced a real ring and she accepted his surprise proposal.
“I knew we'd get married one day but sure as heck not expecting it now," said Stanley.
And Croft said arranging for Glassman to help him draw the couple close together was just one of the creative ideas he had to pop the question.
“I was thinking of going to the baseball field but the sign is not working. We both skydived before so I thought maybe that, but that seemed to be too much work.”
And with the artistic marriage proposal working out the couple is thinking of skipping wedding photos on the big day and bringing in Glassman to hand draw the portraits.
“I think the caricature thing would just seal everything together," says Stanley.
