Hayden Schrag wanted the perfect place to propose to his girlfriend Ashtyn Rottinghaus—so he spent three years building it.
A TikTok video posted by Rottinghaus (@ashtynrottinghaus) shows how Schrag constructed a canoe so he could pop the question on a lake in Colorado, tracking his progress from blueprint to varnishing the boat.
The clip also includes a snap of the proposal taken from the lake’s shore and Rottinghaus’ overjoyed expression as she shows off her ring.
TikTok users were just as impressed with Schrag’s dedication as his bride-to-be: the video posted last September has racked up over 380,000 views and more than 50,000 likes.
Hayden Schrag proposed to his girlfriend Ashtyn Rottinghaus on a canoe he’d built by hand, in Grand Lake, Colorado.
Ashtyn Rottinghaus/@ashtynrottinghaus
28 Percent of Americans Love Over-the-Top Proposals
Elaborate proposals are becoming more common, according to research by TheKnot. In a survey conducted by the wedding planning website, approximately half of proposers said they felt the pressure to plan a memorable betrothal.
The study found that rooftop proposals, “wedding-worthy” decor and hiring planners are on the rise, as are “soundtracks” created by live musicians and partnership proposals—where both halves of a couple propose at the same time.
A 2022 survey by Hungry Howie’s and One Poll found that 28 percent of Americans would love an “over-the-top” proposal, while 31 percent would prefer something more private.
Schrag proposed to Rottinghaus using a handwritten message in a bottle, placed in the water for her to find.
Ashtyn Rottinghaus/@ashtynrottinghaus
Three-quarters of the 2,000 respondents were engaged or had been previously. Of this group, 58 percent wished their proposal had gone differently and 45 percent said they would like a do-over. Almost a third (31 percent) admitted to lying about their proposal to make it seem more impressive, but only 23 percent chose to tone down their engagement story.
Rottinghaus isn’t the only one whose special moment went viral in 2022. A clip of a man proposing with two engagement rings—because he couldn’t decide on one—received over 3 million TikTok views in December.
Earlier this month, Reddit users were in hysterics when a woman accidentally photobombed her friend’s proposal picture while eating a chicken wing.
A third love story got Twitter talking in October, when a writer proposed to her best friend of 34 years over text.
‘That’s a Real Life Fairytale!’
Rottinghaus met Schrag on her first day at Wichita State University in 2016, after sitting next to him in class.
“We started studying together, ran in the same friend group and a couple of months later he asked me out,” she told Newsweek.
Although Rottinghaus wasn’t looking for a relationship at the time, she developed a crush on Schrag.
“I think I knew he was the one for me a few weeks after we started dating,” she said. “I couldn’t wait to tell him I loved him.”
In 2019, Schrag decided to propose and started building the canoe in his family’s workshop in Kansas. For the next three years, he fitted working on the boat around graduate school and other DIY projects.
He read books and watched YouTube videos on the subject, as well as reaching out to other makers for advice. In total, Schrag estimates the project took him more than 450 hours and cost around $1,200.
The canoe took Schrag roughly 450 hours and $1,200 to complete.
Ashtyn Rottinghaus/@ashtynrottinghaus
Rottinghaus knew Schrag was building the canoe, but had no idea it was an engagement surprise. After almost six years together, she suspected Schrag was planning to propose, but didn’t know when.
“Hayden gets ideas in his head about things he wants to build and he was set on building a canoe,” she said.
“It was only in the final months of building I started to think the canoe could be linked to a proposal…but there was no way he’d bring a ring out on the water right?”
Schrag drove the canoe down to Colorado, where he was visiting for a work trip. The journey took nine hours and Rottinghaus met him there. The couple stayed in the town of Grand Lake and, one night, they grabbed dinner before taking the canoe on its “maiden voyage.”
“I asked Hayden, ‘What is the worst that could happen?'” said Rottinghaus. “I could tell he was nervous about the boat and he said, ‘Uhh we sink.'”
Rottinghaus had no idea the canoe Schrag had spent three years working on was for a proposal.
Ashtyn Rottinghaus/@ashtynrottinghaus
Schrag’s cousin, who lives by the lake, helped him to prepare the big moment. The boat was launched from the cousin’s dock.
“I heard a plop in the water and then Hayden said ‘You should grab that’ and by then I realized that something was happening,” Rottinghaus said.
“There was a glass bottle floating in the water so I grabbed it and then saw there was a letter inside and then read it.
“Once the letter told me to turn around, I knew. There was Hayden down on one knee in a literal canoe he hand-built for years with the most beautiful ring.
“I can’t even remember what he said, everything was so perfect, I couldn’t believe it was our moment and my life. I immediately said yes.”
TikTok users couldn’t get enough of the story, with Macie calling it “the most beautiful canoe I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s a real life fairytale!” said Katie.
“Dude was playing the long game for sure,” joked Rach.
“Did not expect to get teary eyed about a canoe,” wrote Lyds Fitz.
Kimmy commented: “Imagine this being passed down in the family with this story.”