Student Stages Romantic, Elaborate Marriage Proposal on TLC
Released on 04/26/2004, at 2:00 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
WHEN: Monday, Jun. 7, 2004
WHERE: TLC (Lincoln Time Warner Cable Channel 45)
Chris Bainbridge, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate student in journalism, recently got help staging the perfect marriage proposal. His story and surprise proposal will air at 12:30 p.m. June 7 on the TLC television series, "Perfect Proposal" (Lincoln Time Warner Cable Channel 45).
On advice of a friend, Bainbridge filled out an online application for the reality show and was surprised to get a call from producers the next day.
Perfect Proposal is TLC's romantic half-hour daytime series where one hopeful fiance arranges his or her partner's ideal marriage proposal with the help of host Nikki Boyer. Viewers get a front-row seat to the secret preparations and the highly anticipated moment of truth.
A crew taped the program in late March at several locations around Lincoln, including the Haymarket Theater, UNL's Temple Building, Sheldon Sculpture Garden, Love Library, Nebraska Union and Andersen Hall.
The elaborate ruse involved tricking girlfriend Sarah Adams into believing she and Bainbridge were auditioning, then being cast, for an independent movie project. The couple enjoys swing dancing, so the scenario involved dancing on a 1940's nightclub set.
It played out flawlessly until the couple arrived at the fake movie set. Bainbridge recalled, "We walked in the door, onto the set and Sarah said quietly, 'I think that director is the host of Perfect Proposal.'"
But a crewmember whispered back that people frequently note the resemblance. Adams was satisfied with the explanation and the event continued.
While cameras rolled, Bainbridge pretended to botch a line of dialogue and the proposal unfolded.
"I was awestruck," Adams said. "I didn't suspect anything. When I found out all these people were in on it and hadn't blown the cover I was super-surprised."
Bainbridge agreed: "She was beyond surprised, you could have knocked her over with a feather."
The couple has been dating for 4 1/2 years; they met as undergrads at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. After college, Bainbridge followed Adams when she moved to Lincoln to be close to her parents (Joe and Jeanette Adams recently retired and returned to Lincoln where they grew up). Sarah Adams works at First-Plymouth Church as administrative coordinator for new programs.
"I'm usually the one who surprises him," Adams said. "He is really a romantic so I knew (a proposal) would be done in a grandiose way, but I didn't think it would come this soon."
"Sarah never thought I'd be able to surprise her at this point, so this was a lot of fun to be able to completely surprise her," Bainbridge said. "I had some reservations going in that it wouldn't be as classy and elegant as I would have wanted, but it ended up being better than I had ever imagined."
The secret is now out: she said "yes." The couple plans a June 4, 2005, wedding.