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AMES, Iowa  —  A “tale as old as time” was told in real life recently in Ames.

Iowa State University graduate student Joel Lynch looked to his fiance’s favorite movie to set the scene for a proposal.  That scene took months to set.

Cara Szymanski loves the classic Disney version of the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast.”  So Lynch decided to recreate the yellow ball gown Belle wears in the movie.  There was only one problem: he didn’t know how to sew.

He didn’t let that stop him.  In October he picked up needle and thread and set to work creating the gown, spending 14 hours some days working on it.  Once it was complete he had it set up on a mannequin inside the library on campus.

When Joel lead her into the library, Cara burst into tears.  As she stepped into the gown, Joel’s sister began playing the song “Beauty and the Beast” and Joel dropped to one knee and proposed marriage.  Of course Cara said ‘yes’.