Marry me, Leslie: a Google wedding proposal (sort of)

Michael Weiss-Malik's "Proposal 2.0" on Google Maps Street View.

We have all heard stories about couples getting hitched through computer games, web comics, technology blogs and lolcats, but Michael Weiss-Malik thinks he may have topped them all. What's better than a kitty "marridj," you ask?

How about a Google Maps panoramic image, accessible by anyone, of the groom-to-be holding a sign reading, "Proposal 2.0: Marry me Leslie!!"

Weiss-Malik, 29, a software engineer for Google Inc., was informed along with many of his coworkers when the Google Street View van — the vehicle used to record panoramic street-level imagery for Google Maps — would be driving by the company's Mountain View headquarters.

Michael Weiss-Malik and Leslie Moreno at a wedding — not their own. (Photo: Michael Weiss-Malik)

He then designed and printed — using the company ink — a sign he would hold as the van snapped pictures, he said. He also registered MarryMeLeslie.com to document the Web 2.0 proposal.

"I wasn't sure if it would get a lot of attention," Weiss-Malik said.

It did. More than 50,000 flocked to the website, and the news got international coverage.

"I figured it would be kind of a fun way to do something big — a very public announcement of asking her to marry me," he said.

The advantage of his public proposal is that Weiss-Malik already secured a "yes" from his bride-to-be in what he calls "Proposal 1.0." The initial proposal was a pretty classic scenario, taking place during a quiet night at home, ring and all.

While Weiss-Malik's fiancee, Leslie Moreno, 26, is waiting to announce her official "yes" until the poll on their website tips toward a majority in support of the decision, here's a spoiler: It's going to happen. And the wedding date is already set tentatively for May 24.

"I got quite a few e-mails in my inbox suggesting that I marry Michael," Moreno said. "Most of the people have been really positive."

Since Google updated its Street View map earlier this month with Weiss-Malik's proposal intact, the heartwarming event has taken on a life of its own. Users spotted it, and submitted links to social media, giving it even more attention. A friend of Weiss-Malik updated Wikipedia's online proposal article to include Proposal 2.0.

"I was pretty sure no one had ever done it before, and only one person could have done it for the first time," Weiss-Malik said. "It's possible no one will ever do it again."

Maybe so, but here's hoping there are many more lolcat "proposalz" to come.

-- Mark Milian