A B.C. man proposed to his girlfriend at Tuesday night’s Elton John concert in Vancouver with a little help from a well-known actor.
Ron Beaudoin had decided to treat his girlfriend, Amanda Grace Leslie, to front-row seats for John’s show at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena.
As John sang his 1970 hit “Your Song,” Beaudoin dropped to one knee and presented her with a ring in a backlit box that glowed in the darkened arena.
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After Beaudoin puts the ring on her finger, the two embrace as Sir Elton sits on stage metres away, singing, “I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind, that I put down in words, how wonderful life is while you’re in the world.”
“I was so surprised,” Leslie said. “My knees almost gave out. I didn’t expect it at all.”
Just before the proposal, Beaudoin talked to a fellow concertgoer who offered to record the proposal, saying he had a background in film. The man was actor Neal McDonough, whose long list of credits includes roles in “Band of Brothers”, “Suits”, “Arrow” and “Justified”.
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Midway through the video, McDonough turns the cellphone around and says “congratulations” to the couple before turning the camera to John onstage.
“I didn’t even know who he was,” Beaudoin said.
“He’s a very nice, very genuine man.”
Beaudoin said the proposal came together at the last minute. The Shuswap man had bought the tickets two days before the concert and snuck away from his girlfriend while in Vancouver to buy an engagement ring.
“It all just kind of came spontaneously,” Beaudoin said.
“We just kind of went through a real rough spell. Last month we lost five or six people in our lives due to accidents and cancer. It was kind of an aha moment.”
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Beaudoin said he had checked set lists from John’s recent concerts to see if he would sing “Your Song,” one of Leslie’s favourite songs. He said he was a bit nervous as the concert came to a close, but once he heard Sir Elton play the first few notes from one of his biggest hits, he knew things had perfectly fallen into place.
“It was just a real magical moment. To have him playing the piano there — Sir Elton himself — I don’t think you could put a better fairy tale together.”
