The twangy guitar selecting begins and the group cheers. It’s time for “Love Story,” the ninth tune on Taylor Swift’s Eras tour set record. Onstage, Ms. Swift strums her guitar and sings a modified Romeo and Juliet story, one with a cheerful ending that closes with Romeo on bended knee and Juliet selecting out a marriage costume.
It’s a Swift basic that has taken on a brand new and literal that means in the course of the Eras tour, the place some followers have used the musical second to underscore their very own love tales with meticulously deliberate marriage proposals proper there within the stadium whereas Ms. Swift performs.
Megan Voo and Justin Chong are two such followers. The couple, who reside in Melbourne, Australia, and met as structure college students on the Royal Melbourne Institute of Know-how in 2017, bought engaged throughout certainly one of Ms. Swift’s exhibits of their hometown earlier this 12 months.
Ms. Voo, 26, was in full shock when Mr. Chong, additionally 26, popped the query in February, principally as a result of she had no thought he was even on the live performance within the first place. Ms. Voo attended along with her sister, however, unbeknown to her, Mr. Chong had bought a close-by seat to shock her. (Ms. Voo’s sister was additionally in on the plan.)
Mr. Chong bought to the live performance early and made the folks seated round him conscious of his plan. They helped type a human protect to maintain him hidden from Ms. Voo. When the second got here, they kindly stepped out of the way in which so he may make his solution to Ms. Voo’s seat.
“After I dropped down and mentioned, ‘Will you marry me?’ the very first thing she mentioned was ‘how did you get a ticket?,’” Mr. Chong mentioned. He wore a ruffled shirt as a nod to the outfit Romeo wears within the “Love Story” music video and proposed with a hoop from his mom.
And whereas the couple didn’t seize Ms. Swift’s consideration, quite a lot of close by attendees filmed the proposal and several other shared it on social media the place it rapidly went viral. “My pal congratulated us, saying “I noticed your video.” We hadn’t even introduced! This was perhaps two hours after the live performance,” Ms. Voo mentioned.
After the proposal, Mr. Chong didn’t return to his unique seat. “I did ask everybody else. I mentioned, ‘is it OK if I keep right here with my fiancée?’” Everybody was standing for many of the present anyway, he added.
Brittany Litzenberger, 27, had a slight suspicion her boyfriend of almost two years, Sloan Thomas, would possibly suggest on the Eras tour. Whereas making friendship bracelets — Swifties commerce them throughout exhibits — at a celebration at a pal’s condominium earlier than the live performance, she noticed Mr. Thomas sneakily hand one off to her greatest pal who could be attending the present with them.
“He had despatched me a couple of movies of individuals getting engaged at Eras and I used to be like, ‘oh, that’s so candy. That may be like my dream,’” Ms. Litzenberger, a behavioral technician who lives in Kansas Metropolis, Mo, mentioned.
Final July on the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas Metropolis, Ms. Litzenberger wore a purple sequined costume, which turned out to be the right outfit for what was about to occur.
“Love Story” got here and went with out Mr. Thomas proposing. However a couple of songs later, throughout Ms. Swift’s “Communicate Now” set, the proposal occurred. Ms. Swift took the stage in a purple costume and commenced to play “Enchanted,” a love tune about assembly somebody for the very first time. Across the first refrain, Mr. Thomas tapped Ms. Litzenberger on the shoulder and handed her the mysterious friendship bracelet.
Mr. Thomas’ tune alternative was notably significant, Ms. Litzenberger mentioned. “After our first date, I bought in my automotive and plugged in my Spotify and shuffled my Taylor and ‘Enchanted’ performed,” she mentioned.
“The friendship bracelet that he gave me mentioned, ‘marry me,’” Ms. Litzenberger mentioned. “Then I flip round and he’s down. He bought a purple ring field. She was singing within the background, the refrain, which was simply excellent timing. Everyone round me is screaming. I’m crying.”
She had a tough time specializing in the following few songs, she mentioned. “However in a great way, you realize, it made every thing actually thrilling.” (Ms. Litzenberger’s pal who hosted the bracelet making get together additionally bought engaged in the course of the live performance.)
Carmen Castillo additionally mentioned she couldn’t keep in mind the tune that performed after her now-fiancé, Vernon Chamorro, proposed throughout “Love Story.”
“He later advised me he was afraid to suggest on the Eras tour as a result of he was afraid I used to be going to die of a coronary heart assault due to all of the feelings and pleasure,” she mentioned. The couple, who reside in Barcelona, Spain, traveled to Tampa, Fla., in April 2023 to see Ms. Swift carry out.
Ms. Castillo and Mr. Chamorro, who’ve been collectively for six years, have set a marriage date for Dec. 14 in Ms. Castillo’s house nation of Nicaragua.
“I wished it to be the 13, however that’s a Friday,” Ms. Castillo mentioned, referencing Taylor Swift’s birthday.
