05/01/2023 10:24
The handover of a new car took an unexpected turn for one York woman, whose boyfriend dropped to one knee in the showroom of Bristol Street Motors York Renault Dacia and asked for her hand in marriage.
James Landragin, 39, popped the question to his now fiance, Zoey Mclaughlin, 40, as they collected their new vehicle from the Clifton Moor site, after arranging the surprise proposal with the dealership.
The couple have been together for four years and had picked the ring a few weeks prior, with Zoey telling her future husband that she wanted a romantic, surprise proposal when she least expected it.
Colleagues at the York dealership leapt at the opportunity to get involved and arranged for the vehicle to be covered in a sheet, and caught the moment James got down on one knee, as Zoey was busy unveiling the car, on camera. Following the joyous moment, the newly engaged couple were presented with a celebratory bottle of champagne.
James explained his reason behind choosing the dealership: “I’ve known that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Zoey for quite a while and we picked the ring out together about four months ago.
“Zoey told me she wanted a surprise proposal, but the weekend before I proposed, we spent a romantic weekend in the countryside, going on lots of scenic walks. She later told me she had been quite nervous on the walks as she thought I was going to propose!
“After that, I knew I had to make the proposal really random, out-of-the-blue and soon, which is why I thought that visiting Bristol Street Motors York Renault Dacia would be a great opportunity. She would never see it coming and be distracted by the car, so I could have plenty of time to spring it on her.
“Colleagues at the dealership were only too happy to help me set it up. They sorted out a sheet to cover the vehicle and moved the handover inside. They told Zoey they were filming her reaction to receiving the new car, so she didn’t get suspicious about why people were recording us. I’m just pleased that she said yes after waiting for me to pop the question for four months!”
Steve Gould, Group Operations Director at Bristol Street Motors, said: “We’d like to extend the congratulations from everyone at Bristol Street Motors to James and Zoey. We were really pleased that we were able to be part of this very happy memory and to have caught the moment on film for them.”
Robert Forrester, Chief Executive at Bristol Street Motors, said: “I think this is the first time that one of our dealerships has hosted an engagement, but hopefully not the last!
“Many congratulations to them both!”