Flash mob personalizes graduate student's proposal

It was July 17, 2007. A plan that started out as a flash mob turned into a marriage proposal.

Josh Pence and Lindsay Leigh Burford, a graduate sociology student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, had heard of flash mobs before from friends who were part of the Lincoln Underground Flash Mob. The group plans "mobs," in which one person in the group is suddenly surrounded by the rest of the members, to mess with spectators and passers-by.

Pence and Burford had not participated in one yet, but that was about to change.

Pence and his friend planned this particular flash mob with a proposal in mind. First, Burford stood in front of the Nebraska Union in white apparel, appearing to be in an fight with someone on the phone. The phone call was a cue to other 100 to 200 members of the flash mob in the area, who were covered in black attire.

The other members ran toward Burford, swarming her and placing a black robe on her, covering her white clothes, to make it appear as if Lindsay had been eaten by the crowd and disappeared.

Pence had other things in mind. He dressed in white shoes, shirts and pants so that he and Burford would be the only ones in white. When Burford answered the call, the group members ran toward Burford and surrounded her as planned.

"Everyone ran up, left a foot of space for me, and I was in the back of the big mob. I yelled out, 'Drop,' went on one knee and asked her to marry me," said Pence. "It was funny because she was the one that actually got punked."

Burford, who met Pence at her best friend's wedding, was understandably blindsided.

"I was totally confused. I had no idea what was going on," she said. "This was not the plan, so I was taken aback."

One-of-a-kind marriage proposals like this are becoming more frequent every day. According to www.best-marriage-proposals.com, proposals in unique places such as an air balloon or on a African safari are ideas that can entice loved one into accepting each other's hand in marriage.

But another Web site, www.everythingvalentinesday.com, advises that some proposals may not be the best choice to impress a partner. Some of the proposals to be avoided include calling or text messaging "Will you marry me?", using e-mail or chat rooms, asking a friend to do it for you and trying to be funny when the moment should be sincere.

It may not be the right time to propose, but it is never too early to start thinking about that special proposal. Put time, thought and love into a proposal, just as Pence did for Burford.

jessicasorensen@dailynebraskan.com