Mardi Gras 2013: A mid-parade Mystics of Time marriage proposal

MOBILE, Alabama -- For one very romantic member of the Mystics of Time, Mardi Gras was the perfect time to pop the question.

And he did it in the middle of the MOT parade on Feb. 9, with friends, family and fellow revelers looking on. The masker arranged to have the parade halt briefly at Church and South Joachim streets, where his intended, Corinne Bogar, was watching from behind the barricades.

(We can?t tell you his name, alas, because most members of Mobile?s mystic societies must keep their identities secret.)

?It was a huge surprise; I had no earthly idea,? said Bogar, who sounded as if she were still in shock three days later. Her fianc? had to get permission and make arrangements with city officials and with his mystic society for his one-of-a-kind proposal, and didn?t get the final approval until Feb. 4, she said.

He had planned the proposal for months. He designed the ring himself and had asked her father for her hand in marriage. He also told his friends ahead of time about his MOT plans, but forbade them from telling their wives and girlfriends until the big day, to make sure no one slipped up and ruined the surprise.

When the float stopped in front of Government Plaza, Bogar said, she just thought it was a lucky moment. The parade had already been moving at a slow pace, so nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until her special masker came off of the float and walked toward her, reaching into his pocket for the ring.

As he made the proposal and she replied in the affirmative, their friends and family took photos and video, and showered them with rose petals. ?I could not stop crying,? she said. ? ? It was more than I could have ever dreamed of.?

Her fianc? had a walkie-talkie on the float so that he could communicate with the driver, and had also arranged for a police officer to stand near her to make sure everything went smoothly when the float stopped. ?They told him he had one minute to do this,? said a delighted Bogar, who later Tweeted to the Masked Observer, ?Best night of my life. Thank U Mobile for being patient.?

After the parade, Bogar caught up with her fianc? at the MOT ball at the Mobile Civic Center. ?We barely got to dance at the ball; people just swarmed us,? she said. ?Random people were hugging me ? it was mostly a blur.

?It was wonderful to have our friends and family there.?

Her beloved had a backup plan for the proposal, too, she said. If the parade idea hadn?t worked out, he?d planned to pop the question during the ball, accompanied by a spotlight and the master of ceremonies.

The couple has not set a date, but plans to be married in April 2014. They have been together for two years and eight months, having met through mutual friends during a beach vacation.

He is a graduate of UMS-Wright Preparatory School and the University of Alabama; she attended Daphne High School and the University of South Alabama. They love spending time on the water, she said, and are thinking about a beach wedding, or possibly a ceremony at the Grand Hotel. ?We?re definitely outdoors people,? she said.

Now, they have a special Mardi Gras memory to pass along to their grandchildren. ?Mardi Gras is very important to us; we grew up here,? Bogar said, adding that she also had never wanted to have her engagement tied in to a particular holiday, such as Christmas or Valentine?s Day.

?Every year, we?ll remember this at the Mystics of Time parade,? she said.

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Source: http://blog.al.com/live/2013/02/mardi_gras_2013_a_mid-parade_m.html

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