A man popped the question via a caricature.
Dave, 28, took his girlfriend, Lexi, 27, on a date to the Florida State Fair on Sunday, Feb. 16. Lexi thought they were just there to enjoy the various food, rides and games, but in reality Dave had been planning an artistic proposal.
The couple — who met in 2014 when they were both working at Surf Style in Clearwater, Florida — sat down next to each other and smiled for artist Damion Dunn, who would create a caricature portrait of them. Based on a video recently posted by Dunn on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, this wasn’t the first time Dave and Lexi had posed for him. The pair visited him in 2022 and 2023, but their 2025 visit would take their relationship to the next level.
In a video with more than 450,000 views shared by Lexi via TikTok on Feb. 18, Dunn hands the couple their drawing. In the piece, Dave is down on one knee proposing to Lexi with a giant diamond ring.
“When the artist showed the drawing, I thought it was so cute but I was also so confused as well like, ‘We’re not engaged yet,’ ” Lexi tells PEOPLE. “I saw my best friend and her husband recording too and I was thinking to myself, ‘Is what I think that’s going to happen, happening right now?’ ”
Shortly after Lexi saw the artwork, Dave recreated the scene by dropping down on one knee and pulling out a red rose ring box from his pocket. When he asked her to marry him, Lexi instantly began crying and nodding her head.
“When he got down on one knee it finally clicked to me that, ‘OMG this is happening!’ ” Lexi says.
After Dave slipped the diamond ring on Lexi’s finger, the duo hugged and kissed each other.
Dave had been planning the surprise for about a month.
“He messaged me about a month before the fair started, asking if I would be down to help him propose to his girlfriend,” Dunn explained on Instagram. “Not only was I honored. I also felt excited and a little nervous to be a part of his proposal. I wanted [to] give them something nice as well as something worth his trust in me.”
Dave proposes to Lexi.
Courtesy of Lexi Brigantti
Dunn included nods to the couple’s relationship and previous caricatures into their new artwork, such as the date of their first date — Sept. 15, 2017 — next to the date of their engagement written in heart frames hanging from the top of the piece.
“I had a feeling it was coming soon because the day before my best friend, Aryn, insisted we got our nails done and helped guide me which color to pick, but I did not think it was going to happen at the fair the way it happened,” Lexi says.
The bride-to-be posted a second video on TikTokof the proposal, this time with the audio and not just music. After Dave and Lexi’s post-proposal embrace, Dunn joked, “Are you guys gonna pay cash or card?”
“He was for sure being funny! We have been getting a drawing from him since 2022 and that’s his sense of humor that makes us keep coming back to him,” Lexi says. “I thought it added to the proposal as well because that fits our relationship so perfect.”
“I just hope you guys continue to come back to me so we can continue the tradition,” Dunn said on Instagram. “I’m trying to draw those future babies 🤣.”
