PERRYSBURG, OH (WTOL) - Tom Jacoby and Lauren Belland met on Match.com. Both say they knew there was a special kind of spark after their first date.
"I think on that first date I was like this could be someone I spend my life with, it was just that obvious," Jacoby said. "She just matched me that well."
The couple dated for about six months and knew marriage was the next step.
"We knew exactly what we wanted," Belland said. "We both had our stable careers and so we were just ready for that next step."
But making an engagement official is much more complicated. Tom began a scheme to ensure the love of his life got a proposal she will remember for life.
Lauren was off on a three-week vacation in Europe when Tom put his plan into action.
"I wanted it to be something she would never see coming," Jacoby said. "She had some stipulations about how it could happen so I was looking for something that would be very special to her. She loves traveling, she loves Europe and it was the end of her trip and I just knew it was the right time."
Tom surprised Lauren as she stepped of the train. In his hand was a ring.
Close to 8,000 miles, three days, and a fiancé later the couple was engaged. They had cell phone video to prove it.
Lauren decided to post it several months later, which quickly gained attention.
"I merely posted it as a convenience to kind of show people because it was just hard to upload the video by itself," Belland said. "And so it's easy to just copy a URL so I thought it would just be an easy way to post it and kind of show people our story because I think it's beautiful."
Their engagement has gone viral with views increasing daily and their story being shared internationally.
"The response has been pretty amazing. I didn't think anything of it when I did it," Jacoby said. "I was like it's something we can share with our family and friends and the fact that it's gotten so much attention has really just been kind of surreal."
"People that know us, know our story and have loved our story and so it's just fun to kind of share it with everybody else," Belland said.
The couple is planning a winter wedding at St. Rose in Perrysburg.
