FOLEY — A chili mac dog with a side of ketchup, mustard and an engagement ring?

Brooke James was in for a shock this past weekend when her boyfriend, Brad Richardson, got down on one knee to propose to her with a hot dog at The Wacked out Weiner in Foley.

"It took me a few seconds to really understand it wasn't a joke," James laughed. "He has done stuff like this before. He will jokingly get on one knee when I ask for a paper towel and be like 'Will you take this from me?' But when I saw the smile on his face and the sparkle in the middle of the hotdog, I knew."

The couple said they met online seven years ago when James was living in Florida and Richardson was living in Illinois shortly before leaving for Army basic training.

"We started dating in November 2016, and once a year we would meet in Illinois or Alabama to spend time with each other," James said. "We live in Fleming, Florida, now, and we were up here this weekend to vacation and visit family in Alabama."

As for where he got the idea for the proposal, Richardson said he always planned on proposing to James in a unique way.

"My whole family doesn't take life seriously, and we went there [the Wacked Out Weiner, which has six locations in Alabama, including four in Baldwin County] when it first opened and bought T-shirts and loved it," Richardson said. "I knew that if I was going to pop this question, it couldn't be serious, and this was Brooke's first time there."

Richardson said he planned on grabbing their hot dogs quickly before moving to a more secluded location for the proposal, but the restaurant was more crowded than he had expected.

"When we first walked in there were a lot of people, and I had a plan to grab hotdogs and go outside," Richardson said. "I told the owners what I was planning, and they were so excited. I originally wanted to put the hot dog through the ring, but it wouldn't fit so I had to cut between the hot dog."

Richardson said the restaurant owners gifted the couple with T-shirts to celebrate the occasion and said they were the first couple to get engaged at the Foley location.

James and Richardson said that while it is a little early to start wedding planning, they are hoping to tie the knot sometime this year or next year.

"We really just can't say thank you enough to The Wacked Out Weiner," Richardson said. "They had smiles on their faces the whole time, and I'm really glad we had a comedic place to do it."