Big question popped at Burton’s Books Saturday

The morning of Saturday, July 19, Melanie Christy walked into Burton’s Books on Greenport’s Front Street with her boyfriend, Louis Ventura, seeking a copy of “Everyone Is Lying to You” for the book club she recently joined.

She left the store a short time later with that novel and so much more: a book of photographs called “The Proposal,” an engagement ring on one finger and a newly minted fiancé, after Mr. Ventura popped the big question.

As Ms. Christy searched for Jo Piazza’s latest bestseller among shelves of psychological thrillers, Mr. Ventura called out to her from the romance section.

“He said, ‘Mel is this it?’” Ms. Christy recalled. “Then he hands me the book. I felt like a deer in headlights. I was so stunned.”

Weeks earlier, Mr. Ventura had ordered “The Proposal” from a Los Angeles-based Etsy shop called TheCeremonyClub, which has sold nearly 3,000 books in a series that also includes “The Ceremony” and “The Honeymoon.” He got to work filling its pages with meaningful photos from throughout their two-and-a-half year (and counting) relationship. The last picture in the book was from a wedding they’d attended in Riverhead just a week earlier. On that page, Ventura wrote, “Now it’s our turn.”

Then he contacted Scott Raulsome, owner of Burton’s Books, to stage the venue for the big question for Christy, an avid reader. It wasn’t the first time Mr. Raulsome had hosted a wedding proposal. About four years ago, on a rainy winter day, another couple got engaged at the bookstore, but it was empty of customers at that time.

This time, he said, “Several other people were watching. They had an ‘Is this really happening?’ look on their faces.”

When Ms. Christy said yes, the Burton’s Books customers and employees applauded. “I’m honored that our little bookshop will always be a small part of their life together,” Mr. Raulsome said.

Mr. Ventura said he was more excited than nervous. “The only time the nerves kicked in was when I had to get down on one knee,” he said. 

“We were both shaking so much when he was putting on the ring,” Ms. Christy added. “We could barely get it on.”

Their July 19 trip to the village was only their second time here. The proposal at Burton’s followed breakfast at Green Hill Kitchen, and they stopped at the Old Fields Winery on their way back west. Another surprise awaited Ms. Christy — an engagement party at Ventura’s parents’ home in Port Jefferson Station.

“Every single person was there,” she said. “My brother flew up from Florida, there were aunts, uncles, cousins … I was so shocked and so happy to see everybody.”

Mr. Ventura had sought, and received, the blessing of Christy’s father, Robert Christy, and had even visited the gravesite of Deborah Christy, her mother, who died in 2017.

Ms. Christy, 26, who works as a secretary in a middle school, and Mr. Ventura, 28, a construction project manager and lieutenant in the Terryville Fire Department, live in Port Jefferson Station. They are now considering getting married in Greenport in September of 2026.

“We’re very beachy, but also rustic, so Greenport would fit that vibe,” Ms. Christy said.

Even a full 24 hours after Ventura’s bookstore proposal, Ms. Christy said she still felt stunned, but happy. “This is best chapter yet in my favorite story.”