ASHLAND — Since Wednesday morning when her longtime boyfriend, Steve Zigmund proposed inside a Goodyear Blimp, Stephanie Finley’s had her head in the clouds.
The Ashland couple were the first to secure a stay inside a blimp at the Wingfoot Lake Airship Hangar in Mogadore, Ohio, and because of Zigmund’s planning, also the first to get engaged inside one of the newest AirBnb spots.
“People keep asking me if I’m on Cloud 9,” Finley said with a laugh. “But it’s more like Cloud 1000. I’m the luckiest girl in the world today.”
A computer programmer and co-owner of The Phoenix Brewing Company, Zigmund booked the blimp for Tuesday, Oct. 22 into Wednesday, Oct. 23 after Finley sent him a screenshot of a Facebook post about it.
Knowing reservation opportunities would roll out throughout the day on October 15, Zigmund left the webpage pulled up on his third computer monitor at work and periodically refreshed it.
“That’s when I saw it was available for the 22nd,” he said.
He sent a quick text to Finley, who works as a preschool teacher, to make sure she was available, and then booked the stay as quickly as possible.
“I didn’t realize he was booking it,” Finley said. “I was like, hey, silly, I have to be up for work Wednesday morning…. But I could take half of a personal day.
“And then, he sends the same message at the same time.”
Upon arriving at the hangar Tuesday evening, they were given a tour and learned the history around the Goodyear blimps.
They described the blimp’s interior as “cozy.” A small living/bedroom space was set up in place of the seats. The blimp stays grounded for the visit.
Around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, Zigmund popped the question.
“It was a private little conversation between the two of us, and he said, ‘Will you be my wife?’” Finley said.
The couple has been dating for nearly three and a half years, and during that time, stayed in at least 20 AirBnbs in Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee.
They met through Finley’s brother and another Phoenix Brewing Company co-owner, Scott Cardwell, who had asked if Finley could work part-time at the business a few years ago.
“No call, no show, first time she worked,” Zigmund said with a grin. “She didn’t make a very good first impression.”
Finley explained how her brother had sent her work schedule to an email address she no longer used. At that time, she was on vacation in New Hampshire and had no way to get back in time for
Later, the couple would meet at an Ed Picken’s dinner. They hit it off.
“Proposing had been on my mind, and as soon as I booked the blimp, I knew I wanted to do it there,” Zigmund said. “And she said, ‘Yes.’”
