SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A man in southwest Missouri proposed to his girlfriend with the help of a very, very tall friend.

Zookeepers at the Dickerson Park Zoo on Sunday attached Cody Hall's engagement ring to a lanyard and hung it around the neck of a giraffe at the zoo on Sunday, the Springfield News-Leader reported .

Hall's girlfriend, Makayla Blakey, thought she was getting a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo when the couple approached the giraffe enclosure.

"They gave us this spiel about how we are going to feed the giraffe and help participate in a training exercise," Hall said. "They showed us the training exercise, getting Mili (the giraffe) to point at a big tennis ball with her nose.

"They gave Makayla a tree branch to feed the giraffe and when it craned its neck out, the ring was hanging."

Hall then got down on one knee and asked Blakey to marry him.

"Marriage was something we had talked about, so I knew she'd say yes," Hall said. "But it's a different feeling when you ask the question and she says yes. It's still surreal."

Hall said his friend Jesse Rollhaus and zoo spokeswoman Joey Powell helped him plan the exotic proposal.

"We were able to make my dream proposal happen," Hall said.

Blakey and Hall are planning to have a spring wedding at the church where they met.

The zoo shared photos of the engagement on its Facebook page Thursday. The post suggested that Mili, the giraffe that made it all happen, should be the couple's honorary ring bearer at the wedding.

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Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com