Indiana

Man Proposes to Girlfriend on Indiana Amusement Park Ride: ‘Life is Like a Roller Coaster'

An Indiana man tested the strength of his nerves last week when he popped the question to his girlfriend on a roller coaster just before the train cars took a plunge down a steep hill.

The moment between Austin Crecelius and his now fiancee Allison Boyle was all caught on camera by a friend of Crecelius' who filmed it from the seat in front of them using a GoPro. The group was riding "The Voyage" roller coaster at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. Crecelius used a roller coaster metaphor to lead up to the proposal, but he says Boyle was "absolutely oblivious" to what was about to happen. 

"At one point in time you had mentioned to me that life is like a roller coaster," Crecelius told Boyle as the roller coaster ascended. "And it's got its ups and downs, it's got its twists and turns, and it even throws you for a loop sometimes. And though you can go by yourself, it's a lot more fun to go with another person. So I wanted to ask you if you wanted to be my roller coaster buddy. Allie, will you marry me?"

Boyle said yes, but she didn't have much time to react to the news before the roller coaster dropped, leaving her laughing and crying until the end of the ride.

The proposal almost didn't happen, at least not the way Crecelius intended, because the roller coaster broke down just before they were supposed get on it, Crecelius said.

"I waited in line for 15 excruciating minutes nervously waiting to pop the question," Crecelius said. "There was even one point in time where she asked me if I felt really hot because my face was red and I was sweating." 

Crecelius and Boyle are both seniors at Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana, studying marketing and public relations. They were spending the weekend at Lake Rudolph Campground with family and friends and went to the amusement park for a day to ride some some roller coasters.

After the proposal, Crecelius and Boyle exited the ride to find their family, friends and another surprise waiting for Boyle.

"When we finally got off the exit ramp, I told her that life is full of surprises, too, and the ring she was wearing was just a fake," Crecelius said. "So I took the fake ring off of her finger, got on my knees and proposed to her with the real ring I had got for her." 

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