HILLSBORO, N.D. - It's the thought that counts when it comes to a marriage proposal.

Chris Mueller 25, was nearly finished etching his big question into a harvested soybean field with a plow when he realized the 'm' in 'marry' took up too much room.

Since he couldn't erase a plowed field, he had a decision to make.

"I figured it would look better to spell it wrong and get a laugh out of it, rather than botch it all," he said. "I could have fit all the letters in, but it would have looked tacky."

So he plowed: "KATIE WILL YOU MARY ME?"

The next step in the plan was to take Katie Goltz for an airplane ride under the guise of looking for deer.

At first, she did not spot the misspelling. She was caught up in the more important message.

"I scanned it, noticed what it said and was speechless," she said. "I said 'yes' and cried like all girls do."

On closer inspection, she noticed that "marry" was short a letter.

"I thought it was so sweet that he spelled it wrong," she said. "I thought it made it more cute and more special."