Muppet Love, Multiplied By Two

Looking back now, it all makes perfect sense.

But in the lifetime leading up to his now famous "Muppet Proposal" movie, a cinematic coup earning him the hand of his longtime love, Sara Prindiville, and the resulting sequel, "Muppet Wedding & Honeymoon," Sid Ceaser had no idea just how happy his happy ending – and inspired new beginning – would be.

"I've always played with puppets. I was that kid reading comic books, playing video games – I used to have a frog puppet I got from the Hopkinton Fair, and a Fisher Price black-and-white PXL2000 video recorder, and with them I used to  make movies of my frog puppet singing Phil Collins and Billy Joel songs," said Ceaser. "So yeah, I guess you could say my whole life led me to this moment."

Early on he found inspiration from Muppeteer Jim Henson – not just Henson's way with puppets, but how he could practically bring them to life, with the subtleties of movement and whimsy of design.

Eventually Ceaser was transformed, from mild-mannered photographer to "that Muppet Proposal Guy," after he was stricken with the Muppet love bug during a late-night computer shopping spree three years ago. Unbeknownst to Prindiville, he stealthily purchased designer Sid and Sara Muppets from FAO Schwarz.

His master plan was to, somehow, parlay his penchant for puppetry into a mastermind proposal of Muppet proportions, which he totally pulled off with the help of Red River Theatres of Concord back in December of 2010.

He and Prindiville married in September of 2011.

"She told me Muppet Sid and Sara could be at the wedding, but she didn't want it to be a circus attraction, so we just had them sitting off to the side during the ceremony, and they were at the reception for a little while," said Ceaser.

They were also allowed to tag along with actual Sid and Sara for the week-long honeymoon in Maine, where they became the centerpiece of several filming sessions for the making of the wedding sequel, which was posted on YouTube Dec. 27.

Ceaser recalls the joy of standing in Acadia National Park on a perfect autumn day, with Sara by his side, as they animated their Muppet counterparts, in full view of curious bystanders who were using binoculars from across a field to get a good look at what the heck these crazy newlyweds were doing with puppets in the wild.

When not on location, Ceaser used his photography studio to capture some group shots of the four of them for art's sake – a roomy space on the fourth floor of the Picker Building along the Merrimack River that feels as much like a playroom as it does a place of business.

A tall rack by the door features and assortment of colorful hats and masks. There's an assortment of battle-ready Star Warsian light sabres off in a corner, and a couple of Kermit-looking puppets sitting, like sentinels, keeping watch over a trunk full of anime toys, mostly dolls – primarily female – which Ceaser's been using to photograph a series called "Plastic Erotica" for an exhibition running Feb. 3 - 25 at NK Gallery in Boston.

If there were any lingering questions over how pivotal a factor fun is to Ceaser's sense of well-being, they are settled here, in this moment.

"Basically, I'm a big 12-year-old kid," Ceaser says.

When asked if there might be plans in the works for another sequel – perhaps "Muppet Babies Take Nashua" – Ceaser just smiles.

"No, I don't think there will be any more sequels, at least not in the foreseeable future," Ceaser says. "This is enough, for now."