Move over, Cupid. A cute, four-legged critter made a Vancouver couple's recent engagement especially sweet.
Now playfully known by their friends as the "hus-buns," Derek A. Jang and fiancé Rob Loxterkamp got engaged at The Bunny Cafe on Commercial Drive a week before Christmas.
Derek told Vancouver Is Awesome that he was looking for a way to make the proposal memorable that wouldn't put Rob "on the spot" around lots of people.
"The Bunny Cafe is [a place] that really resonated with me," he said. "In the COVID-19 pandemic, having the chance to go to spaces like The Bunny Cafe and connect with animals -- [since] we're not pet owners -- was a real lifeline for us during stressful periods."
Rob also owned some rabbits as a child, making the cafe a nostalgic choice. And with a Chinese-Canadian heritage, Derek said that the location also perfectly lined up with the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year animal: the rabbit.
"Rob is definitely the bunny fan. I think that I tend a little more toward kind of the scaly side of the animal world," he laughs, adding that he was born in the Year of the Dragon. Some of the couple's friends have even been creating engagement photos with crocodiles and moray eels photoshopped into them.
The events leading up to the proposal were "a bit of a whirlwind," starting with the rings arriving the morning of it. However, the staff provided an excellent plan for the surprise. One of them helped facilitate the meeting with the bunnies while the other waited with her camera to capture the magical moment.
Rob was so focused on feeding the rabbits that he didn't notice Derek was down on one knee for a little while.
"Definitely a few candid shots that did not make The Bunny Cafe Instagram page [where I'm like] 'Come on, how long is it gonna take," he joked.
Something Derek hadn't realized before getting the rings was that there was a light inside the box.
"I think that's why the rabbit is so interested in that moment," he said, noting that it worked out "perfectly".
The happy couple will officially tie the knot in a small ceremony on April 28 in North Vancouver with just a few close friends and family members.
Derek and Rob also made a donation to a rabbit rescue society based in the Lower Mainland called Rabbitats.
