KENOSHA, Wis. — Melissa Gemig said she always knew her boyfriend's marriage proposal would be unique.

But she never expected Brian Steinseifer to design a large, lighted Christmas display that read "MELISSA WILL YOU MARRY ME."

The pair took a stroll Sunday night on so-called Christmas Lane, a stretch of street known for its colorful holiday displays.

Gemig, 21, asked her mother just before the couple set out for the walk what the chances would be that she'd be engaged by next Christmas. Steinseifer came over the night before to ask permission.

"I thought, 'Little did you know you'd be engaged in an hour,' " said her mother, Kathy Gemig.

Steinseifer, 23, a designer for a Milwaukee advertising agency, said he got the idea a little more than week ago, through he wasn't sure he could pull it off. He took a large piece of poster board and black construction paper and drilled dozens of holes through it, then arranged white Christmas lights to construct the proposal.

The last piece of the puzzle was securing a spot on Christmas Lane. Steinseifer's mother asked her old high school friend, Sandy Poltrock, if her son could use their front yard for the proposal. She obliged.

Gemig also said yes.