See Howell Man's Epic Central Park Flash Mob Proposal

HOWELL, NJ — When Robbie Leaks decided he wanted Jasmine Austin to be part of his life forever, he wanted to make the moment he asked her to marry him to be epic.

"If you know Jasmine, you know she is an EXTRA human being," Leaks said Monday by email as he talked about his proposal to his bride-to-be. "So I knew I wanted to make her day EXTRA. "

It's safe to say his Central Park flash mob proposal — complete with roses and kids wearing shirts with the message "Will you marry me?" meets that standard.

"I'm a goofy person," Leaks said, "So I love doing things that make her laugh, I guess cry in this instance. I wanted to have all New York City eyes on her for her moment."

Leaks, of Howell, shared the video of his proposal to Austin, a Manalapan High School graduate, on Facebook on Sunday to mark the anniversary of his proposal and to thank the friends who helped him pull off the surprise.

"A BIG THANK YOU TO Melissa O'Kane, Danny Drew and a couple other of my Howell natives for following me all the way to NYC to make this happen!!" he wrote. (You can see the video at the bottom of this article.)

Leaks, 25, and Austin, 26, first met at Leaks' Howell High School graduation party in 2012, when Leaks' mother invited Austin and her family to the party. Their mothers, Reba Leaks and Yvette Anderson, were co-workers and good friends and had been scheming to introduce the two for some time.

"For Jasmine's senior year in high school (2011) they tried to set us up together for prom," he said. "We both thought it was weird," because Leaks and Austin had never met. Their mothers fixed that a year later.

"I knew I wanted to marry her as soon as I saw her walk into my back yard," he said. "We spent the summer together before I went away for college in Virginia and still stayed connected."

They started dating over that Christmas break, and continued to date while each focused on their own goals. Austin was attending college in New York City. Leaks was at Shenandoah University, playing football and working to become a certified personal trainer.

"Realistically, neither of us thought we would be here today," he said. "We were focusing on our own selves. We gradually became closer and closer to one another, and I saw how happy she made me, how she lifted me up whenever I was down, how much she helped drive me toward my goals and how she was there and down for me no matter what."

"Every day I fell more and more in love with her," he said. "I could not and still do not see my future without her."

"From the beginning we have been very close," Austin said, "but I agree neither of us thought we would be here."

It took a little over a month of planning and coordination with friends and family to secretly set up the proposal. O'Kane, a high school friend who takes photos for Leaks' personal training business, also works at Tiffany Dance Academy in Jackson. O'Kane connected him with Tiffany Zebrowski, who along with Joelle Beuschel and O'Kane arranged for the dancers and set up the choreography for the proposal. High school friend Danny Drew, who owns Clarity Visions, filmed the event.

Leaks rented a bus for the dancers and their parents, Zebrowski and her staff, and of course for his parents and Austin's parents. Close friends and other family members were invited as well.

"If you know me I am VERY EXTRA and VERY NOSEY," Austin said by email. "The fact that he got this done without me knowing is still a great shock to me."

A couple of weeks before the proposal, Leaks told Austin he needed her to go with him to lunch on a Saturday to meet a new client and the client's wife.

"I asked who it was and he wouldn't tell, which led me on a goose chase," Austin said. "I was thinking it had to be someone important or famous."

Leaks told Austin they were meeting with the client at restaurant in Central Park. They were living in New York at the time, and he would travel back and forth from Howell to New York as needed for his business.

"The night before the proposal I went out to drinks with one of my good friends," Austin said. The woman, now one of her bridesmaids, kept asking Austin who she and Leaks were having lunch with the next day. "So again I was so thrown off and not prepared for what was happening."

The day of the proposal was a cold one in New York. Austin said she got dressed and asked Leaks if he liked the outfit. "He never has an opinion on what I wear — he doesn't care," she said, but that day "he asked if that was what I was wearing and if I really liked it. I was so upset and said yes I did, and sat in the living room while he got ready."

When they got to Central Park, the walk to the restaurant was lengthy. "I knew that the restaurant was in the park but I was not aware how far into the park it was," she said. "I had on heels and the lightest coat ever. So, not only was I freezing but my feet were on fire! Robbie kept saying the place was this way, that way and changing his mind."

"I was so annoyed with him I just wanted to scream," she said. That's about the time they stopped in front of Bethesda Fountain.

"He explained that we were going to meet the couple there. I thought it was dumb but just stood there angry," Austin said. "Next thing I knew music started playing."

The music was "Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake. "That's our special song," Leaks said.

Austin suggested they go inside the restaurant to wait because she was cold. Leaks protested, urging her to watch the dancers and listen to their song.

"Me being oblivious responded, 'I do not care — I do not want to watch these little kids dance!' " she said.

You can watch the moment unfold below. The video is about 4-1/2 minutes long, and the build-up to the moment he pops the question is worth it. You see them walking hand-in-hand through Central Park and watch her reaction as Leaks joins the dance.

"He was walking away, I followed for a little and then realized he was joining the dancers. I am sure by now it should have hit me but as Robbie said, he is goofy, so I assumed he was doing it to annoy me or make me laugh."

She looks bemused as she watches him dancing and waving to her from the back of the group.

"A woman moved me to the center in front of the fountain and that's when it hit me," Austin said. "This was the moment I was dreaming of my entire life."

As the song finishes, Leaks hands single-stem red roses to a group of younger children, who deliver the roses to Austin. As the last child delivers the rose, Leaks walks up to her, escorted by four boys dressed in white T-shirts under red flannel shirts.

At that point you can see she has an idea of what's happening, but the look on her face when Leaks reaches into his pocket for the ring makes it clear how surprised she is.

As he kneels, the four boys behind him reveal their shirts with the message: Will You Marry Me?

"I was so excited, so happy and of course began to cry," Austin said. "Robbie got down on one knee, took out a blue velvet box, he opened it and I screamed ' YES!' He never even got to ask me to marry him, LOL. After that we hugged and as I looked at the crowd I saw my family, his family and all our friends. The waterworks started all over again!"

The couple has not yet set a date as they search for the right venue. "We are taking our time and looking for 2021," Leaks said.

The proposal is every bit as romantic as it sounds, and if you're prone to crying, grab a box of Kleenex.

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