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# This Singing Flash Mob Proposal Sets an Impossibly High Bar


![Olivia B. Waxman](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3c95204947ba81f/6989408e97cdff3ae16b6e48/o_waxman.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)


![Olivia B. Waxman](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3c95204947ba81f/6989408e97cdff3ae16b6e48/o_waxman.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Olivia B. Waxman


Staff Writer

Jun 4, 2015 4:41 PM UTC

![Olivia B. Waxman](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3c95204947ba81f/6989408e97cdff3ae16b6e48/o_waxman.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)


![Olivia B. Waxman](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3c95204947ba81f/6989408e97cdff3ae16b6e48/o_waxman.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Olivia B. Waxman


Staff Writer

Jun 4, 2015 4:41 PM UTC

A California music teacher staged a volleyball tournament to propose to his girlfriend — and she said yes.

As part of the elaborate stunt, “Marry You” by Bruno Mars started playing in the middle of a volleyball game, so the girlfriend looks like she knew exactly what was going to happen, but had to watch numerous dance routines anyway. Seated on some sort of throne, she was whisked away to Centerville Presbyterian Church where Tom BetGeorge popped the question in front of packed pews, a choir and dancers.

Overall, the proposal, which was six months in the making, involved “100 performers, 69 singers, 18 dancers, 13 instrumentalists, 11 cameras, 7 confetti cannons, 3 sound systems, 2 choreographers, + 1 girl who’s worth it!” as he wrote in the description of the video on YouTube.

BetGeorge, a music teacher at Oakland’s Conservatory of Vocal and Instrumental Arts, is known for elaborate musical creations that go viral, such as a [Christmas lights display](http://time.com/3639774/star-wars-christmas-lights/) choreographed to the songs from _Star Wars_ films, featuring a 17-foot guitar and a 19-foot piano.

_Read more:_ [_Watch This Proposal at a McDonald’s Drive-Thru Backfire Spectacularly_](http://time.com/3908075/mcdonalds-proposal-fail/)

### Photographing a Kiss: Long Time Love Affairs

![The Lovers](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc21faa27b7d19533/69877f0f55a8594c00a85cc7/lauren-fleishman-lovers-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Joseph and Dorothy Bolotin Sharon, Pennsylvania Married on June 16, 1938\. Dorothy, "I never think of it in terms of years. I think of it in terms of good years. In love, hot romance doesn’t last forever. So I would say that yes, I think love changes. I would say we’re still in love. It’s focusing, doing little things. He’s an amazing man." Lauren Fleishman

![John and Sherma CampbellStar Valley, WyomingMarried on May 13, 1955Sherma When you start out, you think you love each other as much as you possibly can,but lovegrows—just like your inner self grows as time goes by and you have experiences.And now at this](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte46288ccda7c07b6/69877f10f887dcb5dae8a152/lauren-fleishman-lovers-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

John and Sherma Campbell Star Valley, Wyoming Married on May 13, 1955\. Sherma, "When you start out, you think you love each other as much as you possibly can,but love grows—just like your inner self grows as time goes by and you have experiences.And now at this stage of the game, I love him even more. I can’t even imagine life without him." Lauren Fleishman

![Jin Lin and Lai Mei ChenBrooklyn, New York Married on February 4, 1961Jin Lin We had so many things in common it was like our hearts were the same.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteacea0c344d76ece/69877f103c16394906451c00/lauren-fleishman-lovers-3.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Jin Lin and Lai Mei Chen Brooklyn, New York Married on February 4, 1961\. Jin Lin, "We had so many things in common it was like our hearts were the same." Lauren Fleishman

![The Lovers](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bd849c47110c7b4/69877f108e06011e8445a467/lauren-fleishman-lovers-4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

de'Spagnolis Aldo de’Spagnolis and Maria Filiozzi Itri, Italy Married on October 23, 1949\. Aldo, "When I first saw her, she was 14 and I was 22.Was there a concern that she was too young for me? No! Even now I look like a young child! Yes, even now I’m still young." Lauren Fleishman


![The Lovers](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt527b8d663fcadf94/69877f11cd1bbacbb26f530a/lauren-fleishman-lovers-6.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Jake and Mary Jacobs Solihull, England Married on April 27, 1948\. Mary,"Jake said to me,'Would it ever be possible for me to marry you?' And I said,'Possible but not probable!' And that’s how it was. It wasn’t likely that I would ever marry him, and he knew that. So when he went home to Trinidad, my mother and father breathed a sigh of relief. But he used to write, and he said, 'I’m thinking I might come back to England.'" Lauren Fleishman

![The Lovers](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b2a5c3903c9b31b/69877f113c16395be8451c04/lauren-fleishman-lovers-7.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Kissin Yevgeniy and Lyubov Kissin Brooklyn, New York Married on June 29, 1941\. Yevgeniy, "We met at a dancing party. It was in January 1938\. My friend invited me to the party, he said there would be a lot of beautiful young girls. Another cadet with high boots had approached her, but she didn’t like high boots and so she said no to him. I was the second one to approach her. I had a different uniform, but I’m still not sure if it was my uniform or my face that attracted her to me." Lauren Fleishman

![The Lovers](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltea96dfbd8e404577/69877f12a988ca7f576ac735/lauren-fleishman-lovers-8.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Itig and Golda Pollac Brooklyn, New York Married on August 13, 1946\. Golda, "I would say love came little by little. Not right away.We were young.And he was older, but I liked him. He spoke to me in a very nice way." Lauren Fleishman


![The Lovers](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb8ba091bed8edde8/69877f12cd1bba52026f530e/lauren-fleishman-lovers-9.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Yaakov and Mariya Shapirshetyn Brooklyn, New York Married on July 6, 1949\. Yaakov, "What is the secret to love? A secret is a secret, and I don’t reveal my secrets." Lauren Fleishman

![The Lovers](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4b01e6df120ee0cb/69877f12e20a87545ca85168/lauren-fleishman-lovers-10.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Gino and Angie Terranova Staten Island. New York Married on September 27, 1947\. Angie, "You really don’t think about getting older. First of all, you’re aging together, and when you see a person constantly,you don’t notice big changes. Like you don’t notice, oh you’re getting a little wrinkle here and tomorrow you say it’s a little deeper. No, those are things that just happen." Lauren Fleishman

Flash Mob Proposal at Mock Volleyball Tournament

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