Love in Charlotte: She went to a cat cafe for a photo shoot — and left with a fiance.
“All I needed to do if I wanted her to say yes to marrying me was bring home a kitten and ask nicely.”
Charlotte resident Sean Pitchford turned his girlfriend’s proposal joke into a dreamy reality — complete with a purr-fect surprise — at Mac Tabby Cat Cafe. His girlfriend, Leanna Gardener, always assured him that he didn’t need to do anything elaborate, but Pitchford knew he wanted to make the day as special as possible.
“Every time she made this joke, I would respond with a staunch, ‘No way, we have enough cats.’ But deep down, I knew she was onto something.”
The week of Gardener’s birthday, Pitchford decided to surprise her with a photo shoot at Mac Tabby Cat Cafe. Little did she know that the day would end with a fiance and a new family member.
PLANNING THE PROPOSAL
“We had visited Mac Tabby quite a few times in the past and have always loved the place. We would sit in the playroom and end up talking about which cats we wish we could take home to add to our family.”
The day after Pitchford purchased an engagement ring, he headed into Mac Tabby and shared his idea for the proposal with the manager, Kayty Harrelson. Harrelson and cafe owner Lori Konawalik brainstormed ideas to make the proposal extra special.
“They were amazing in helping me take my broad idea of what I wanted to do for Leanna and narrowing it into the finished plans that came together beautifully.”
Most of Pitchford’s planning involved leading Gardener off the trail of the coming proposal.
“I had to keep her guessing because she is so attentive and intelligent, and any slip-up or error on my part would be fatal for the whole surprise. She loves true crime and has the mind of a detective,” Pitchford said.
To throw her off the trail, he offered up diversions like, “You know I’m really excited to get engaged, but it’s OK if it happens in like last July or early August so I can plan, right?”, and “You aren’t scared of heights per se, right?”
“We designed my ring together back in June, so I only knew it would happen eventually. I was in a perpetual state of looking forward to it, even though I had no idea when it would actually happen,” Gardner said.
“I wanted to get her thinking of the multitude of ways I could propose that was as far away from what we both knew would be the perfect proposal that represented the things we love: cats,” Pitchford said.
Once Pitchford received the green light to propose at the cafe, he also started an application process for Catering to Cats and Dogs, the cafe’s rescue partner.
“We had always wanted to adopt from Mac Tabby, so to propose with a kitten meant that I needed to make the possibility of a new addition to the family a reality,” Pitchford said.
With reservations confirmed and an adoption application underway, Pitchford and Konawalik began to plan for the big moment. Since the couple would be taking photos with the cats, Konawalik suggested putting the ring on the collar of one of the kittens, giving Pitchford the ideal opportunity to get down on one knee mid-photo shoot to propose.
Pitchford made a quick trip to PetSmart — disguised as an outing to get their cats Rocco and Cyrus some more food and treats — and bought a lovely bow tie cat collar and a little heart charm to help secure the ring. The plan was ready.
THE BIG MOMENT
On July 14, after dating Gardener for three and a half years, Pitchford took the relationship to the next step.
“I was extremely nervous leading up to the proposal. I was afraid that maybe she knew and wouldn’t be surprised. I was worried she may hate the idea of a photo shoot and not want to do it. She is always so wonderful about trying new things and doing stuff that maybe isn’t exactly what she wants to do, but she can tell is important to me. The most terrifying thing was the idea that I may slip up and ruin the whole thing,” Pitchford said.
Luckily, Pitchford was able to keep his cool with help from Konawalik’s expert misdirection. Gardener had no idea.
“After a few minutes of photographing them, I told them the light was perfect and that we should use the balloon prop. I asked which kitty would be ideal for a kissable prop, and they picked Hayden,” Konawalik said.
The plan was to ask Kayty to get a “cute little hat” from the back room, which would “be perfect in the photo.” This gave Kayty time to fasten the collar onto Hayden. Kayty returned from the back room with a collar-clad kitten, stating that she couldn’t find the hat, but that Hayden looked just perfect anyway. Kayty handed the cat to Pitchford, who got down on one knee.
“She had no idea,” Konawalik said. “She noticed the ring almost immediately, and the tears began to fall. The proposal went off without a hitch.”
While Gardener was still reeling from the shock of the proposal, Pitchford shared the other good news: He’d already started the adoption process for a kitten.
“She was so happy and had the look of love and shock on her face all over again,” Konawalik said. “It was really a beautiful moment.”
SHE SAID “YES”
Gardener was shocked to find her birthday photo shoot a clever disguise for one of life’s most precious moments.
“I knew that Sean had reserved the space for just the two of us to celebrate my birthday, so I was already very excited. When we arrived, Sean explained to me that he had arranged a photo shoot for my birthday which, I have to admit, made me very nervous. I usually don’t care to have my picture taken, so having a photo shoot sprung on me was quite a shock, but the idea was so sweet, I decided to just go with it, and I’m so glad I did, Gardener said.
“I was so surprised, and the proposal was absolutely perfect,” Gardner said. “I had always joked with Sean that all he needed to propose was a kitten, but he always responded with such a stern ‘no way,’ I never dreamed he would actually do it. If I had to build my ideal proposal, this would have been it.”
Konawalik said this was the first proposal to happen at Mac Tabby Cat Cafe, but she doesn’t think it will be the last.
“We have seen lots of girls tag boyfriends. We also heard a wife tell her husband that he owes her a proposal and now she knows what she wants. Pretty neat,” Konawalik said. “My favorite part was knowing that our Cat Crew was a part of something so meaningful, something that will be a part of this beautiful couple’s story forever. We didnt take that lightly. We were very honored to participate in the anticipation, joy and celebration alongside the happy couple.”
The couple is still working on the adoption process for their newest family member — who also happened to be the star of their romantic photo shoot.
“After sweet little Hayden became the star of our engagement, we requested to have our application considered specifically for her,” Gardener said.
While they wait, they’re spending time reminiscing on the special day and enjoying the excitement of being engaged.
“We are both teachers, and we met while we were both working at A.L. Brown High School. We became friends quickly, but I had a huge crush on him the entire time. I think back to those days now, and I never could have dreamed how amazing our lives together could be,” Gardener said.
