Will you marry me? Total solar eclipse was the perfect backdrop for proposals across the country

— -- Love was in the air for many couples during the total solar eclipse.

As the skies darkened and the temperatures dropped, they used the rare occasion as the perfect opportunity to pop the question.

Aaron Hrenak and Kaitlin McNeely of St. Charles, Missouri, were one of those couples. Hrenak, 27, said he chose to propose during the eclipse because "she wouldn't expect it."

"It was surreal," he told ABC News. "Right before I proposed I asked if she could place the eclipse between her fingers like she was holding a diamond ring. Then I got down on a knee and proposed. It's almost like she will have that moment on her finger for the rest of her life."

"I don't think photos can communicate how incredible an eclipse is," Hrenak added. "The way the light is affected is incredible, almost surreal. Very few phenomena are as impressive as this was. It really was a perfect moment. We will both remember it forever."

According to Instagram, the eclipse was a bigger event for users than the 2017 Super Bowl, with more than 50 million people posting, commenting or liking something related to it. Of the top 10 eclipse-related hashtags used by Instagrammers, #love came in at No. 9.

Congrats to the lovebirds celebrating the celestial moment.