Watch: An ‘A-maze-ing’ North Jersey Wedding Proposal

SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ — Surprise wedding proposals are fairly common, but a surprise that took months to literally grow in a corn field may have set a new bar in North Jersey.

For Killian Leahy, 25, who has known the man she calls her “best friend” Zachary Freeborn for six years, he enlisted the aid of sisters Erin Lytle and Jessie Freeborn to pull off the stunt.

Their family owns and operates Tranquillity Farms in Green Township, a destination with seasonal attractions including pumpkin patches, sunflowers and a corn maze, along with their year-round store with farm-fresh items.

Leahy works across from the farm at Pub 517, where she and Zach Freeborn first met; and is additionally employed as a makeup artist in the film industry.

The sisters helped Freeborn pick out Leahy’s special square-cut diamond engagement ring, and he came up with another idea during a group meeting at the farm.

Lytle said when the team at Tranquillity Farms met to discuss readying the corn for their maze in June, Freeborn decided on the message that would be carved into the corn field when it became ready at the end of August.

“Marry Me,” along with a pumpkin and flower, was etched especially for Leahy into the field's corn maze.

The secret grew as the corn rose, with the maze finally cut by GPS, Lytle said.

Freeborn arranged for friend and helicopter pilot Andrew Stephanic to fly them over the proposal message on Sept. 13.

Two sisters said they were originally heading into the air to perform the aerial check of the corn maze, with Freeborn suggested Leahy switch places with his sisters. All according to plan.

They took off from Blairstown Airport first flying over the Delaware Water Gap before making their way over to his message in the maize-filled maze; and what Leahy told Patch was an “out-of-the-world” proposal.

Leahy said Freeborn was afraid of heights, and she thought it was originally going to be she and his dad, so even when he decided to go up, she told Patch, “I had no idea, they really threw me off.”

As they were flying over Route 80, Leahy said she later learned of the coordinated effort, with Freeborn’s sisters watching for the helicopter and texting up the signal for them to slow down, for Leahy to see the message.

“The proposal was so sweet, so wonderful,” Leahy said.

Watch her reactions to the proposal in the embedded video clips below:

After the two landed, Leahy had the further surprise of both of their families gathered together on the grounds of Tranquillity Farms, with a celebration that followed at Pub 517.

Leahy, who works at the farm’s Fall Fest collecting tickets for the maze, say guests often comment on the proposal photo at the entrance, and she tells them, “Yes, that was real,” and then tells visitors her story.

Leahy is originally from Blairstown and Freeborn from Hackettstown, the couple now living in Green Township, where they eventually plan to build their own home, she said.

Their wedding date is marked on the calendar already for Sept. 30, 2023, at her aunt’s farm in Knowlton, a special place for Leahy and Freeborn as well, she said, with a stunning view of the Delaware Water Gap.

Some couples are written in the stars, but this North Jersey couple was written in the corn.

Find out how to explore Tranquillity Farms’ pumpkin patch and corn maze at www.tranquillityfarmsnj.com or www.facebook.com/tranquillityfarms.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.