Man Proposes to Girlfriend in Museum Filled with Paintings of Moments From Each Year of Their Romance (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

An elaborate museum proposal was filled with love and custom paintings.

On Jan. 18, Brendon Donoho reached out to a friend from high school, painterNatalie Hensley of Natsy Art, to help him pull off the perfect proposal. He asked the artist to create one painting for every year he and his girlfriend, Kaitlyn Lawrence, have been together. These paintings would then be displayed inside a local museum where Donoho would get down on one knee.

“Brendon has always been incredibly thoughtful and has displayed numerous grand gestures for Kaitlyn during their time together,” says Hensley, who has known the bride-to-be since elementary school. “This grand gesture, however, takes the cake and sets the bar for all men out there and future proposals!”

The plan took eight months to execute. As a cover for the proposal, Lawrence was mailed a fake invitation for a formal banquet that would be taking place at the venue. Her attendance was needed because she would be presenting a donor appreciation award to her parents, which would also explain why 30 or so of her friends and family would be there too.

The venue, Cedarhurst Center for the Arts, is located in Mount Vernon, Illinois, which is about a three and a half hour drive from the couple’s home in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Kaitlyn was under the impression Brendon was not able to make the banquet and she would be attending alone,” Hensley explains.

Brendon Donoho proposes to Kaitlyn Lawrence.Grant Smith

Grant Smith

Donoho offered to help his girlfriend pick out her dress, which was secretly a ploy to get photos of what she would be wearing so that Hensley could accurately create the proposal with their exact outfits for the final painting.

Over the months leading up to the proposal, Donoho and Hensley worked together over Zoom to perfect the paintings.

“We worked together to make sure the right colors and imagery were used,” Hensley says. “We decided to go with nine 8x8 paintings.”

In order, the paintings were: (1) a fortune cookie homecoming proposal, (2) the outside of a theater where they had their first date, (3) the coffee cup Donoho wrote on asking Lawrence to be his girlfriend, (4) an elaborate prom proposal in which Donoho drug a piano outside to the front lawn and sang a song he created for Lawrence, (5) the inside of Donoho’s Chevrolet Tahoe in the parking lot of their high school where he first said “I love you,” (6) a scene from a play they were in together, (7) their first home, (8) a dip kiss after college graduation, and (9) the proposal.

Courtesy of Natalie Hensley

On Oct. 25, the plan finally went into effect.

When Lawrence arrived at the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts, Donoho walked her inside and surprised her with all of the paintings, which were showcased next to flowers on three tables.

“The proposal was just one month shy of their nine-year anniversary, so it really threw her off as she was anticipating a proposal next month,” Hensley explains. “She was in total shock. Kaitlyn and her loved ones were overwhelmed with love and joy.”

Donoho then walked Lawrence privately into a separate room where he unveiled the final painting — the proposal. The two sweetly shared a slow dance before getting engaged.

Brendon Donoho and Kaitlyn Lawrence.Grant Smith

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Hilariously, Lawrence had caught the bouquet at a wedding just 20 days before her proposal.

“I decided to record the bouquet toss and SCREAMED SO LOUD when she caught it!” says Hensley, who was live painting at the wedding. “That was totally not planned; just divine intervention.”

In a “full circle moment,” Hensley will act as a live painter at Lawrence and Donoho’s wedding next year.

“I can’t wait to create another work of art that celebrates their love story together,” she says.

source: people.com