Austen Renaud can thank his lucky star.
On Dec. 18 the North Vancouver resident made a memorable marriage proposal to his girlfriend of 10 years, Jocelyne Bonneau, when they visited St. Paul’s Foundation’s Lights of Hope display.
As they stood admiring the dazzling 100,000-light display, she looked up to see a glowing star that read: “Jocelyne, Will You Marry Me?”
Renaud dropped to one knee.
The Ontario couple moved to North Vancouver last year and were wowed by the Lights of Hope display and planned to make a return visit this year to start an annual holiday tradition.
But Renaud, 26, had even bigger plans. After contacting St. Paul’s Foundation, he arranged to bring his girlfriend to the display on Dec. 18 to pop the question, and with the help of foundation staff he pulled off the star-lit surprise.
He says Jocelyne was so stunned that she actually took a second to say yes.
When she did, others who’d come to admire the lights started to cheer.
“That just added to the magic of the moment,” he said.
Renaud also made a donation to Lights of Hope, which allows St. Paul’s to help hundreds of thousands of patients each year.
Renaud, who is studying music therapy at Capilano University, said the couple were high school sweethearts and 10 years ago he gave her a present of registering a star that they named “our promise.”
This brings things “full circle,” he said. “Ten years later we made it.”
Renaud said he and his fiancée, who works with children with autism and is pursuing her master’s in applied behaviour therapy, have not yet to set a wedding date.
Visit lightsofhope.com to make a donation and learn more about Lights of Hope.
