Matrimony is scary. Lifetime commitment, gifts of expensive jewelry, hordes of extended family—it’s not an easy thing to sign up for. Add the modern phenomenon of over-the-top viral wedding proposals into the mix of anxiety and expectation, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Calamity struck yesterday (December 12) when a Dutch man attempted to propose to his girlfriend with the help of a two-story crane.

32 residents of a small Dutch town named Ijsselstein had to be evacuated, according to CNN, after the man’s attempted aerial proposal fell through. Literally. The crane he was attempting to steer into his girlfriend’s window—where he planned to serenade her and then pop the question—tipped over and crashed through a neighbor's roof.

The first attempt at rescuing the crane only made the hole bigger, and the device remained lodged in the roof for hours. Perhaps the couple should make sure that particular neighbor gets a large slice of wedding cake at their reception.

Here’s the real question: did she say yes? One can only imagine the poor man's indignity if he had to simultaneously deal with a crane fiasco and the emotional fallout of a refusal.

Luckily for him she accepted, and the happy couple immediately left to celebrate in Paris according to Reuters.