Nate Yongue, 21, of Vinton, Ohio, proposes marriage to his girlfriend Andrea Jones, 19, of Pomeroy, Ohio, during a visit to the tulip fields at Gritt’s Farm near Buffalo, Putnam County, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
Nate Yongue, 21, of Vinton, Ohio, proposes marriage to his girlfriend Andrea Jones, 19, of Pomeroy, Ohio, during a visit to the tulip fields at Gritt’s Farm near Buffalo, Putnam County, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
CHRIS DORST | Gazette-Mail
BUFFALO — It began with pumpkins, 3½ years ago.
On Tuesday, Nate Yongue returned to Gritt’s Farm to propose marriage to his girlfriend, Andrea Jones. But instead of a pumpkin patch, the couple was surrounded by colorful fields of tulips.
She said yes.
Yongue, 21, of Vinton, Ohio, knew he wanted to pop the question at Gritt’s Farm, where they went for their first date during the 2021 Pumpkin Festival at the farm and greenhouse in Buffalo, Putnam County.
“I saw the tulips and I know that’s her favorite flower,” Yongue said. “It couldn’t get any better than that.”
Jones, 19, of Pomeroy, Ohio, didn’t see it coming.
“I thought we were going to just look at flowers, and he proposed,” Jones said. “It was a complete surprise.”
Through it all, Yongue kept his emotions in check.
“I was nervous,” he said. “But she’s the person I want to be with. I love her, so it was perfect.”
They haven’t settled on a wedding venue yet, but they said Gritt’s Farm could be in the running.
“We’re hoping to have a spring or summer wedding next year,” Jones said.
With 200,000 tulips in bloom, the second-annual Tulip Festival is underway at Gritt’s Farm. In addition to the flowers, the Tulip Festival, which runs through April 13, features more than 20 kid-friendly farm playground attractions and food stands on site at the farm.
