Banner day for one local couple

Laguna man hires an airplane to stage a sky-high surprise for his bride-to-be.Saturday was a banner day for Steven Muccillo and Deborah Bushman.

As they were dining at the Studio restaurant, a plane flew low overhead, trailing a 600-foot-long banner with the words: “Deborah, I love you. Will you marry me? Steve the Handyman.”

That would be a “Yes.”

“She was floored,” said Robert Burns, who was among the 10 friends, many of them Muccillo’s customers, who gathered to celebrate with the couple.

The bride-to-be didn’t know the friends were tucked out of sight, watching the plane fly by, invited by Muccillo to share the moment.

“It was just an incredible day, one I will probably remember forever,” Burns said.

Burns and his wife, Holly, have lived in Laguna for eight years.

They met Muccillo when they needed some remodeling done on their first home and immediately became friends.

“All of his customers become friends,” said Burns.

Muccillo has lived and worked in Laguna for 20 years.

“He was the most eligible bachelor in town,” Burns said.

“Over the years, we [customers] tried to fix him up several times, but he fell madly in love with Deborah.”

In fact, Muccillo said, he met Deborah through friends.

The proposal took some doing. It was delayed about three weeks due to weather conditions.

The delay meant that Muccillo had only one day to savor the occasion -- he underwent previously scheduled throat surgery on Monday.

“I am the happiest man alive,” he croaked Tuesday.