A man has come up with an ingeniously extreme way to propose to his girlfriend, having popped the question via a 10-inch tattoo.
Joe Murray, 33, wanted to go for something ‘memorable’ when he set about asking girlfriend Sara Graham, 36, turning to their shared love of tattoos for inspiration.
Barber Joe visited Ant Payne-Wright, the owner of Liberty Ink Tattoo in Inkersall, Derbyshire, to cook up a clever idea, incorporating an interactive element for Sara.
Ant ended up inking a cartoon version of the couple on Joe’s upper-left thigh, writing underneath: “Marry me then...”
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It was followed by two check boxes for the options ‘yes’ and ‘no’, leaving space for Sara to respond herself with a tick in whichever applied.
She had been lured to the studio under the pretence of having her own consultation, only for Joe to surprise her as he dropped his trousers to reveal the tat, dropping onto one knee and holding out a ring.
Dad-of-three Joe, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, said: "We've got a love of tattoos, I thought it would be something very different, very random and something a bit more memorable.
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"Me and Sara are very sarcastic with each other so for me to try and be serious, I froze. I thought I handled it quite well until I got down on my knee and my hand started shaking.
"I had my trousers round my ankles when I proposed to her.”
Ant then started playing the pair’s song - ‘Love You 'Till the End' by The Pogues – while a stunned Sara looked on at her partner in shock.
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Joe continued: "I grabbed the ring and then threw myself next to her. I was kneeling so the tattoo was showing.
"I said 'babe will you marry me then? I don't think she realised what was going on, then she started getting a bit emotional. She said 'yes I will'.
"I was a little bit nervous of her tattooing me but she has steady hands so I didn't stress too much."
Thankfully for Ant, Sara’s inked the ‘yes’ box with a big fat tick, before visiting her mum to show off the tattoo – and, even more importantly, the pear-shaped diamond ring onto her finger.
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Sara said: "The proposal was a shock to say the least. I wasn’t expecting it at all and it was a very unique way of doing it and felt personalised for us as we love tattoos.
"The fact I got to tattoo it myself made it that little bit extra special too. It was just a lovely moment and I’ll cherish it forever, well he will now it's on his body."
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Ant, a tattooist of eight years, admitted it wasn’t a tattoo he does every day, and that it had been the first proposal he’d helped orchestrate as he let Sara tattoo her answer – a ‘symbolic’ part of their engagement.
"I never rule anything out in tattooing,” he added.
“There's so much weird and wonderful stuff that goes on, it's crazy. Any tattoo's possible."
After Ant posted on Facebook about the bespoke job, many people agreed it was a 'cute' idea.
One wrote: "Congratulations to the happy couple!"
Another commented: "I love this."
Topics: Sex and Relationships
Jess Hardiman