Firefighter proposes to girlfriend while skydiving from 12,500 feet

In May, 2014, California firefighter Brandon Strohbehn had been dating his girlfriend, Nicole Nepomuceno, for 18 months and felt it was time to take the relationship to the next level. So he did what felt right: he took the plunge.

After several months of planning with friends and family, the 32-year-old Strohbehn and Nepomuceno, 29, jumped from a plane 12,500 feet above San Diego. While in freefall, Strohbehn pulled a ring from his pocket and presented it to a surprised Nepomuceno.

Surprise gave way to shock when the ring slipped from Strohbehn's hands and the couple continued their descent.

"At first, it scared me," Nepomuceno told ABC News afterwards. "But then I saw that he didn't react at all, so I knew it was a prank."

Strohbehn had brought a fake ring with him for the jump, hoping to play a prank his girlfriend while in flight. According to Strohbehn, she "greeted me with 2 fingers on her way down," in response.

Friends and family were waiting on the ground when they landed. At that point, Strohbehn knelt and with the real ring – not the $9 Amazon ring he dropped in mid-air – and proposed. Nepomuceno happily accepted.

"The proposal was amazing. I wouldn't have it any other way," Nepomuceno said.

The couple is planning for a summer 2015 wedding, likely at a much lower altitude.

- Christopher Woody