That’s a day at work she’ll never forget.
When photographer Lauren Moffe, 36, arrived at Three Sixty Bridge in Austin, Texas, last month, she was under the illusion she was helping her friend, Lauren Licarione, shoot a couple’s proposal video.
But Moffe’s boyfriend, Nick Maffeo, 40, had other plans.
Maffeo rounded up Moffe’s two children — Romeo, 8, and Theo, 6 — and surprised her by popping the question Nov. 19.
The Austin bride-to-be had no idea the epic event was coming — thinking her partner, who works in finance, was on the job in Japan.
“I was so happy. I thought I was seeing things,” she gushed to South West News Service. “I was so confused, as I thought he was in Tokyo.”
Maffeo actually was in Singapore for work before he proposed and had told his now-fiancé that he was then continuing on to Japan — when he was actually coming home.
Moffe was shocked when her boyfriend surprised her by proposing. Lauren Licarione/ SWNS
Maffeo enlisted the help of Moffe’s best friend and her children, Romeo and Theo, to pull off the proposal.Lauren Licarione/ SWNS
Nervous that he would ruin the surprise — which he’d been planning for a month — he admitted that he was working with Moffe’s best friend to coordinate the grand romantic gesture, even going as far as writing down talking points in case she asked about it.
“There was a lot of back and forth between myself and Lauren’s best friend,” he said. “She helped me out with a lot of it. I had the idea of where and how and she had the ideas on how to organize it.”
However, the romantic proposal was nearly thwarted by a canceled flight from San Francisco to Austin, with Maffeo having to instead fly into Houston. He then drove to Austin at 5 a.m., heading straight to the bridge where he proposed to his partner.
The couple gushed about their love for one another.Lauren Licarione/ SWNS
Maffeo said he had asked his fiancé’s children for their permission before the proposal, saying it was very important to him that they were on board with the marriage.
The couple — who are planning on getting married in Mexico in December 2023 — gushed about their appreciation for one another.
“She is a beautiful girl, I have known her for a while, and I know what type of person she is — it just feels right,” Maffeo said, adding that he loves “her smile, her laugh and everything about her.
“It is hard to describe when I am with her,” he continued. “[When] we are together, it feels different to any other relationship I have ever had.”
Moffe agreed, saying she knew Maffeo was the one from the moment she met him.
The bride-to-be said her children adore Maffeo.Lauren Licarione/ SWNS
“He is very peaceful, he has a lot of love for people, he is so sweet and, more importantly, he is a great role model for my kids to look up to,” she reflected.
“Nick came into our lives at the perfect time and the kids are so excited to have him as a bonus dad,” Moffe added. “He loves them as his own and they love him sincerely.”
