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The gorilla and giraffe: Adorable proposal alert

Romantic Paul Phillips proposed to girlfriend Erika Ramos in a specially-created children's book

A wedding proposal is always going to be a special occasion - but one hopeless romantic made it even more magical for his bride-to-be.

Paul Phillips, 23, was desperate to ask Erika Ramos to marry him in a way she would never forget - so he popped the question in a children's book.

After creating his own book about a giraffe and a gorilla, he planted the book - entitled 'A Tall Tale' - in the children's section of a library and waited for his unsuspecting girlfriend to find it.

When she did, he asked her to read it aloud to see if it was suitable for their nieces and nephews who they often hunt for books for - and she came across his proposal at the end.

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Paul, who lives in North Carolina, USA, said: "The idea did not come to me easy, but I did not want to do just any ordinary proposal. This is the girl I plan on spending the rest of my life with, through thick and thin.

"To me, this was a once in a lifetime proposal.  So all these ideas of animals, books, and children kind of lead me in the direction I went.

The book was illustrated by graphic designer Yoni Limor and Paul pulled in photographer Laura Ingram to wait in the wings of the library to capture the moment.

As Erika, 23, started to read the story Laura pulled out a camera ready for Paul to get down on one knee and reveal a ring.

The book reads: "There once was a gorilla that fell for a giraffe. She surprised him by how much she could make him laugh.

"The gorilla, his life, unpolished and scattered; now refined and focused on those things that matter,' it continues.

"So he got on one knee and uttered the plea: 'My dearest giraffe, will you marry me?'"

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Paul had 10 copies of the book printed for friends and family but despite all his precise planning, he couldn't sleep with worry.

He said: "I wanted the day to be perfect for her. From the time she woke up, to the time we went to bed I could not afford to make one single mistake - that is a lot of pressure on one guy.

"Erika had no idea the book was written for her. I asked her to read it out loud to me but the pictures are what gave it all away. When she really began to notice was when I got on one knee.

"I said keep reading. I think she was in shock, but when she got through the first two lines I took over, on one knee, and finished the last two lines. I have never felt that type of joy in my life, hearing the word 'yes' will play through my head for years to come."

The couple have been together for almost a year and have planned to get married for a while - and had even contemplated merging the proposal into the wedding.

Paul said: "We plan on printing little copies of the book to give out as wedding gifts. We want to use a giraffe and gorilla on the top of the cake.

"I wanted to wear a gorilla suit, but she turned that idea down pretty quickly."