Brandon Sukeforth and Kelsey Franklin sit at the piano at 290 Maine Street pub in Norway near where Sukeforth proposed on Nov. 14.
NORWAY — Like many preparing to propose marriage, Brandon Sukeforth of Oxford spent a long time planning. He rehearsed the timing and what he was going to say.
And what he was going to sing.
On Nov. 14, Sukeforth proposed to Kelsey Franklin of Oxford at the end of a performance of “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton during karaoke at the 290 Maine Street pub at 290 Main St.
The song ends with the whispery line “if I could just hold you tonight.” Sukeforth had an addition. He got down on one knee, and, before a crowd roaring with excitement, sang “if I could just propose to you tonight.”
Video of the performance has been shared over 4,000 times on Facebook.
Sukeforth and Franklin have been on the news, and have people congratulate them almost everywhere they go. But, according to the couple, the proposal was the perfect expression of their love.
Some men get weak at the knees thinking about proposing, and some women don’t appreciate the notion of having the question popped in public. But for the two songbirds, it was very fitting.
“Doing theater helped ease anxiety in that way … I just love her a lot, and it felt so right,” Sukeforth said.
They both love to perform and began dating last year. Fittingly, their first real conversation was at 290 Maine Street after a performance of “Little Shop of Horrors” by the Oxford Hills Music and Performing Arts Association at the Norway Grange Hall on Whitman Street. They started talking, hanging out and quickly realized they were in love.
On Nov. 14, after a performance of “Godspell” at the Grange Hall things came full circle.
“Since it started here, I thought it was a good place to continue,” Sukeforth said. “There was one night we were here, and she was sitting at that table there, and we had a conversation, it was kind of where we first viewed each other as adults. We started talking and hanging out.”
Franklin said she was completely taken by surprise by the proposal.
“I was one of the very few people in the room that didn’t know what was happening,” she said. All of her family members were in town for “Godspell,” and they all flocked to 290 Maine Street after the show, along with friends and cast members. Things didn’t seem real until the ring came out.
“Having seen him do as much karaoke as I have, the fact that he was paying so much attention to me and pointing at me really wasn’t that different…he got on one knee, even still, I thought, ‘this is something he would do during a performance,'” Franklin said. “When I saw the ring, I thought, holey moley, this is happening. I look back at the video, I have this moment… I’m like, holy crap, he pulled this over on me.”
And it took a lot of hard work and secret-keeping to pull off such an elaborate proposal. The truth almost came out a few times but was saved, mostly due to the quick thinking of friends. After the proposal, as if planned, it was Franklin’s turn.
Her song?
“At Last” by Etta James. So fitting, many thought it was planned. But it wasn’t.
The couple plans to get married in Las Vegas in February and have a big party when they get back for friends and family in Maine who couldn’t make it. The couple confirmed Wednesday that they will be performing karaoke.
But, for now, they are still basking in the afterglow of a perfect proposal.
“There’s no other way for us to have done it,” Franklin said. “He had said months ago, ‘when I propose, everyone will know.’ He was not lying.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
