A British man spent a month secretly taking pictures of his unsuspecting girlfriend with the engagement ring he wanted to give her, before he worked up the nerve to actually pop the question.

In a Facebook post that had accrued more than 92,000 likes times and 66,000 shares when this story was written, pharmaceutical company employee Edi Okoro describes the lead-up to his eventual successful wedding proposal to girlfriend Cally Read, and explains that he’s a “spontaneous improviser” who doesn’t typically plan things in advance.

That’s why, the Hertfordshire, U.K. man wrote, if he suddenly planned a surprise vacation or special night out to pop the question, his girlfriend would suspect something was afoot.

“This made it even more of a challenge,” he wrote.

While he was waiting for the right moment to propose, Okoro was keeping the ring in hand. That’s when he began snapping pictures of himself and the ring in different scenarios with his oblivious girlfriend in the background.

He told CTVNews.ca via Twitter direct messaging that he spent July snapping the photos and eventually proposed at the end of August. But he wanted to keep the story of his actual proposal a secret for now.

All he shared was that the real proposal didn’t involve him getting caught in the act of his photobombing prank.

He added that the attention from well-wishers online and media outlets from around the world has been overwhelming.

“It’s actually been really nice hearing people’s stories about their proposals and syncing with the sentiment of proposing in line with the relationship,” he told CTVNews.ca.

The idea came to him after Read nearly discovered the engagement ring earlier this summer. “And it hit me!....all these missed opportunities mixed in with the thought - Cally doesn’t know I have the ring!! I should just start documenting these moments!” he wrote in the Facebook post.

“The idea was to take as many photos, in more daring scenarios, until I found the perfect moment to propose, or until I got caught, at which point I would propose!”

It’s not the first time he’s pulled this kind of stunt, telling CTVNews.ca that “I have pulled a similar prank with photos with my mate but it wasn’t a secret.”