Monday was an enchanted evening in the village of Maplewood when about two dozen friends and three generations of family gathered at the Maplewood Theater to lend moral support to John Ramos, who was surprising his long-time girlfriend, Erin Martin, with a storybook marriage proposal.

John has known that Erin was "the one" for years. The pair have been together since high school. But when the tall, dark and handsome young man recently enlisted in the Coast Guard, he decided that he wanted to make it permanent with the pretty blonde–and sooner rather than later.

To set the stage, John put together a short film with highlights from their past. It was a labor of love set to romantic music, showing vacations, holidays, sporting events and wide-ranging, sightseeing adventures. Even Elvis and Minnie Mouse made cameo appearances. There were a couple of sky diving photos included--maybe hinting to Erin to "take the plunge"?

John wanted to show Erin the video before proposing. But where? Since both he and Erin live in South Orange and attend Seton Hall University, the nearby Maplewood Theater was the logical setting.  

That’s when "fairy godmother" Susan Rinaldi stepped in and waved her magic wand to make it happen. She opened the theater’s doors at a time when it would ordinarily be closed and offered the help of the theater’s technical wizard, Rick Teixeira, who adapted John’s video ensuring that it would play correctly on the theater’s projection equipment.

Erin arrived on time, maybe a little confused by all the  people there, and maybe a little flummoxed by all the attention.

After the video was shown, John stood in the front of the theater and proposed to Erin who immediately accepted a beautiful engagement ring.

To further celebrate the young couple then presided over a banquet at Arturo’s, down the block.

And Patch has a feeling that they'll be living happily ever after and offers best wishes to them both!