VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A Virginia Beach man executed his master plan to propose to his longtime girlfriend on Thursday, which included ordering a giant sign and finding a way to attach it to an overpass along Interstate 64. 

Matt Moss, 38, says he woke up early on Thursday morning and told Rebecca Welch, 36, his girlfriend of seven years, that he needed to give his brother a ride. 

Instead, around 5 a.m., he headed for the bridge along Providence Road and spent about 30 minutes attaching the 4-feet-by-30-feet plastic sign to a fence high above I-64 that read: “Rebecca will you marry me? (Matt)”.

When he returned home, Moss convinced Welch to make a coffee run. While they were en route, he told her he needed to get on I-64 to pick up something for work. 

As he approached the sign, Moss told Welch that he had a flat tire and pulled over while pointing to the sign. Welch says she immediately started crying and said, “Yes!” 

Moss says he got out of his car, opened up the passenger side door and got onto one knee in the emergency lane. 

“I got into the emergency lane and told her we had a flat,” said Moss. “The whole time she said, ‘We don’t have a flat.’ I said, ‘Trust me, we have a flat.’”

Soon enough, Welch saw the sign.

“I looked up there. I instantly started crying and asked him how he did it and said ‘yes,’ of course,” said Welch. 

Moss says he got out of his car, opened up the passenger side door and got onto one knee in the emergency lane. 

The couple, both from Virginia Beach, met in 2011 as Welch was struggling to find change to put into the parking meter at the Oceanfront. Moss says he saw an opportunity and went into a nearby store to get change. He says they spent that entire night together and the rest is history. 

Moss, 38, and Welch, 36, both have daughters from separate relationships. They say they are looking forward to bringing their families together and a lifetime of happiness. 

“Not a lot of people find love. I was a chosen one I guess,” said Welch. “Just lucky.”