Man Proposes To Girlfriend At Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade

DUBLIN, CA — In the days leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, Merryn Zankich noticed that her boyfriend, Wyatt Burns, was acting differently.

“He was seeming a little distant. I’m a really nosy person, I’m kind of hyper-aware of things when they’re different,” she said. “There were some things that I was like, maybe it’s just a coincidence, so I kind of just kept brushing it off, but I had suspicions.”

She was right. After five-and-a-half years of dating, partners can usually sense when something is off. Wyatt did have a lot on his mind. He was planning to propose to Merryn in front of a large crowd at Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, at the same spot near the Station 16 firehouse where her family had watched the Dublin Lions Parade for years.

“We both have a good amount of Irish heritage, and we’re very proud of that, and I know that the parade is a very traditional thing for her family, and I wanted to tap into that,” Wyatt said. He said that he was positive she would say yes because they had discussed marriage indirectly for a while. But he still felt nervous right until the actual moment, when he said a kind of ‘tunnel vision’ kicked in.

“I finalized this plan with her sister about three weeks ago,” he said. “The first two weeks I was excited and anxious waiting for the time to pass so I could do it. This last week, I woke up on Monday morning and I had the biggest pit of nervousness, up until the moment I got the cards.”

The cards to which he’s referring were a series of green, 12x12 cards asking a number of important questions that led up to the most important question. At about 9:30 a.m. Saturday, with friends, family and strangers watching, Wyatt began flipping the cards in front of Merryn, “Love Actually” style, while his friend strummed “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley on his guitar.

• Will you seek the adventure of new places?
• Will you send me that new song?
• Will you sit with popcorn at the edge of your seat?
• Will you start a new gripping show?
• Will you love cats 110% as much as I do?
• Will you laugh at every bad pun or joke I make?
• Will you continue to ♡ me till the end?
• Will you…

He then took out a ring and proposed. Merryn said at first she felt a little confused, but soon realized what was happening.

“I was honestly just thinking over and over, ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening, this is happening, this is so exciting,’” she recalled. “And when he got down on one knee I was overwhelmed and I was full-on crying because I was so excited, and the whole time afterwards, I was telling him, ‘Are you crazy? Are you crazy?’ I still couldn’t believe it. It’s honestly still so surreal.”

The couple, who live together in San Jose and both grew up in Morgan Hill, haven’t set a firm date yet, but think they might get married in the fall of 2025 or ‘26, and perhaps honeymoon in Ireland.

In the meantime, they’ve become minor celebrities in Dublin after the city highlighted the proposal on social media. The Dublin Ranch Golf Course has also reached out to them asking them to consider marrying there.

Merryn said after bumpy moments in their relationship, she felt utter certainty during the proposal. “When he actually was on one knee, it was no questions, just totally ‘That’s my guy,’” she said. “That’s my best friend right there, that’s who I want to be with for the rest of my life.”