NEED TO KNOW
Matthew Covey wanted his girlfriend, Gracie Songer, to be surprised when he proposed, so he asked her father, fine artist Jake Songer, to help him concoct the perfect planJake hosted a mock art show at a gallery in Utah on May 24, where he unveiled an oil painting he spent weeks creating featuring the question, “Marry Me?”Gracie tells PEOPLE she “had no idea” her boyfriend would drop down on one knee to propose to her that night, and plans to keep the painting so that their future kids can see a tangible part of their love story
When a draping white cloth was lifted to reveal a new painting, the artist’s daughter couldn’t believe her eyes.
Oil painter Jake Songer, 50, told his daughter, Gracie Songer, 25, that he was hosting an art show on May 24 at Montgomery-Lee Fine Art in Park City, Utah. Because her father has been a professional fine artist for 16 years, Gracie “truly was not suspicious at all” about going to the gallery. What she didn’t know was that it was all a ruse.
“Afterward, I couldn’t even comprehend what happened,” Gracie tells PEOPLE. “I kept thinking there was still an art show!”
Matthew Covey and Gracie Songer kiss.
Courtesy of Gracie Songer
Two months before the show, Gracie’s 23-year-old boyfriend of five years, Matthew Covey, secretly pulled Gracie’s father and younger brother aside at dinner, and asked them both for their blessing to propose — and their help.
“My dad was all about it and immediately went to work with my sister and mom concocting a plan,” Gracie says.
Collaborating with Gracie’s boyfriend and artist sister Solenne, Jake spent more than two weeks designing an orange, floral painting with the question “Marry Me?” on it. The design was inspired by Gracie’s mixed media art and the font from Sleeping Beauty’s Gothic-style title sequence. The 1959 Disney movie was the first film Gracie “fell in love with and was a childhood core memory.”
Matthew Covey proposes to Gracie Songer.
Courtesy of Gracie Songer
The actual painting placed inside a thick gold frame took about one week to complete.
“The night of the proposal, my dad even went as far as to test out different lighting scapes around the gallery to decide the best place for it to be,” Gracie notes.
From communicating through code words to trying (but failing) to get Gracie to get her nails done, “so many moving parts were involved in the plan.” Everyone worked together to keep the secret from “stubborn” Gracie, who is “such a snoop.”
When the night of the surprise proposal finally came, Gracie still suspected nothing because going to an art gallery was “a typical weekend event” for the Songers. She and “all people who typically go” to Jake’s shows — including both sets of Gracie’s grandparents and her paternal aunt and uncle — gathered downstairs where the gallery associate, Janice, said a painting would be unveiled.
“I assumed she was just being fun and eccentric that night so we all went downstairs to see,” Gracie remembers.
Solenne pulled out her cellphone to record a video of the unveiling, so Gracie figured she should too. She “had no idea” that she’d end up filming her own proposal, or that the clips would later go viral on Tiktok.
Matthew Covey and Gracie Songer hug after getting engaged.
Courtesy of Gracie Songer
“I was thinking it was just gonna be one of my dad’s typical impressionistic light flowy beach scenes, but was nearly put into a coma when I saw bright orange with black bold romantic lettering… nothing could’ve prepared me for that!” Gracie says. “Seeing bold lettering on a painting really threw me because you just don’t see that in the fine-art world.”
After Jack unveiled his painting, Covey pulled Gracie in front of it before dropping down on one knee and popping the question. Because the Songer family has three generations of professional artists, it was no surprise that Covey proposed with a ring drawn and designed by Gracie herself.
Gracie’s family and a few straggler strangers erupted into applause and shared their congratulations after she accepted Covey’s proposal.
“I know he loves me because he really understood that I would go to lengths to try and figure out what was going on — and he went to even greater lengths to make it a surprise,” Gracie gushes.
Gracie think of ring commitment.
Courtesy of Gracie Songer
The newly engaged couple are “100% keeping the painting,” either displaying it above their bed or on their living room’s gallery wall.
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“It will be a part of our lives forever and I love the thought of my kids growing up always seeing the painting, and then when they finally are old enough to understand the story, they’ll love it that much more!” Gracie says. “I feel like as a kid you always wonder about your parents meeting and their proposal and I love that they will have a tangible painting to look at for their whole lives!”
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