“Zoe loves the movies. So I knew if I was going to propose, it had to involve the movies. But I can’t make a movie myself because I don’t work in film. So I had to get creative. I ordered a black-and-white Italian film from a vintage film dealer. It seemed vaguely romantic. I spent four months editing it on my computer. I changed all the subtitles. I cut out the harem scene. I completely changed the plot so that it resembled our lives. I wrote some dialogue about picture frames because Zoe’s family owns a frame shop. And I love trains. So I made the main character a train enthusiast. When I finished the editing, I rented out a small theater with sixty seats. I invited all of Zoe’s friends and family. I made sure everyone sat in the front and didn’t turn around. The weather was beautiful that day. Zoe didn’t want to go to a movie. We got in a big fight about it, but I finally convinced her. I was so nervous that I laughed during the whole film. I’d seen all the jokes 1000 times but I laughed at them anyway. Then during the final scene, the main characters started speaking to the audience, and one of them asked: ‘Does anyone here want to get married?’ So I stood up. The lights came on. All her friends and family turned around. And I gave a speech that I prepared. I was so nervous that I forgot to ask the actual question. But Zoe bailed me out and said ‘yes’ anyway.”
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