Sneaking 25 friends and family on the Maid of the Mist was no easy task! But with four good friends and months of planning, we pulled off the best surprise proposal ever!!

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I proposed to Alexis on the "Maid of the Mist" August 31, 2019. Four friends (Matt, Richie, Greg and Dan) helped pull off sneaking 25 of our closest friends and family on the boat! We googled mapped the area of the elevator and boat launch. Matt, a local teacher who had been on the Maid of the Mist during a recent field trip, helped work out the logistics of the winding lines. The plan went perfectly;

I told Alexis that we were invited to a friend's Lake House that weekend, but they weren't going to be there until Saturday. Since we had the weekend off, I told her we would spend Friday night visiting friends in Buffalo. Our first stop was Dan's house. I asked him what he was doing Saturday, and Dan said he was going to take his kids to Niagara Falls. Knowing that Alexis had never been to the Falls, I asked her - "Hey, have you ever been to Niagara Falls?" She replied "No." It was at that time that Dan suggested we should go with them. Bingo! She took the bait.

Later that night we met with Greg, Matt and Richie, and I extended the invitation to them. Matt and Greg were an instant yes and Richie said he had to work. At this point, Alexis saw these plans unfolding in real time. For us, this has been in the works for months.

Early the next morning, we met Greg and Matt for brunch. After brunch we left to meet Dan and his kids at the Falls... Meanwhile, Richie escorted our friends and family down to the Falls an hour before we arrived. Once down at the water level, Richie took them to get ponchos and then escorted them back toward the restrooms. Literally, hiding on the other side of the elevators.

We arrived at the Falls and met Dan and the kids. When we got through the Poncho tent, a few minutes later Richie and everyone entered the line behind us. Even though we were literally a row apart, the ponchos were enough of a distraction to disguise the whole group.

At one point, it looked like we weren't going to catch the same boat! As the boat slowly came to capacity, the gates shut just prior to us letting on. At that point I knew both groups would get on the next boat together.

When we entered the boat, our group went on the top level and Richie took everyone to the bottom level toward the back of the boat. The plan was; once we got to the middle of the Horseshoe falls, they would come upstairs and witness the proposal. But the crew of the boat wouldn't let that many people switch from the bottom level to the top of level due to the weight of the boat or capsizing... Either way, Greg whispered to me they couldn't come up, so I immediately said, "Hey! Let's go there's a better view at the back of the boat." So we walked down to the bottom level, and I was speed walking with Alexis following behind....and that's when the video starts!

Alexis didn't even know they were there until I pointed at them!
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