Some men ask with flowers, some ask with champagne but Ricky Jenkins has taken marriage proposals to new heights.
The Wagga resident proposed to his now fiance Amy Ryan last week and he did not care who was there to see it.
Mr Jenkins is currently working construction at Wagga Base Hospital as a labourer with Erincole Building Services and enlisted the help of his workmates and boss to construct and erect a sign off the side of the building.
Those driving down Docker Street were confronted with a large banner that read “Will you marry me?” on Friday, leaving many to think it was an O Week prank from a university student.
But Mr Jenkins was very serious as he blindfolded Miss Ryan and drove her across the road from the sign before removing the blindfold and instructing her to look up.
“I was a little bit in shock and excited but it was nice,” Miss Ryan said.
“He said look up and it was pretty much right there.”
Miss Ryan said yes instantly.
The couple met when they were 17 and have been dating for the past 12 years with a short break in the middle but Miss Ryan said the proposal came as a complete surprise.
She had to confirm with Mr Jenkins that the banner was intended for her.
Mr Jenkins’s boss Mark Lindeman and colleague Micky Mulholland assisted him to paint the sign and secure it to the side of the building.
“It took about half an hour and a lot of cable ties,” Mr Jenkins said.
“It’s on canvas so if it was too windy it would have ripped.”
Mr Jenkins has a reputation within his family of being a bit of a romantic but no one expected him to go to this length to propose.
“They were in shock,” he said.
“No one had any idea.
“They know I’m a bit of a softie but they wouldn’t have expected me to do that.
“I didn’t expect it to get so much attention.”
The couple are expecting their first child, a baby boy, in April and Mr Jenkins is already devising clever ways to announce his son’s birth.
“I’m pretty tricky so I reckon I could pull something off,” he said.
