Tampa Man Surprises Girlfriend With 'Under the Sea' Proposal
A Tampa man wowed his girlfriend of six months with a unique proposal.
— -- How do you propose to your girlfriend, who loves fish and aquariums? Well, you go underwater. Sort of.
Brian Hoffman, a scuba diver, said he decided to propose to his girlfriend of six months, Katie Davis Hoffman, at the Florida Aquarium in downtown Tampa because of her aquatic interests. Although he wanted to go underwater to do the big ask initially, Hoffman told ABC News that he asked the aquarium's divers to do the honors because he "wanted to hold her hand and see her expression."
Hoffman, 38, admitted that he picked the worst day in August to propose.
"It was raining really hard in downtown Tampa," he explained. "I was worried we weren't going to be able to make it. And I was like, 'No, we've got plans. We're going to make it.'"
So the two lovebirds, along with their children, who range in age from 10 to 17, waded through a torrential downpour and even road closures to finally make it to the aquarium without incident.
"When we get there her son wants to see the otters first. And I'm like, 'No!' because I had the proposal scheduled at a certain time," Brian recalled.
Sharing her version of the story to ABC News, Davis Hoffman said, "I saw this photographer standing there, but I didn't think too much of it. All of a sudden my kids saw the diver. And I was like, 'Oh, look honey -- a diver!"
"She turns around," Brian continued, "and they pop out the sign that read, 'Katie will you marry me?'"
Davis said the moment was made even more special because it happened in front of her children.
"It was really sweet and very exciting. And my kids were there! My kids were just really surprised. They weren't expecting it," she said. "You could see it in my son's face. He was so happy for me."
"And she just broke out in tears and was ecstatic," Brian added.
The Hoffmans wed on Nov. 29 in Irwin, Penn., in an intimate country-themed wedding surrounded my family and friends.
Still, their unusual proposal is still impressing the couple's local community. The Florida Aquarium shared the unique scenario on its Instagram page Sunday.
Brian agreed that it's a moment to remember. "Katie was really amazed because she said it was really unique. She was very impressed," he said.
