Car wash chain Soapy Joe's announced the winner of its “Propose At Soapy Joe's” competition. Vivian Valenzuela and Ronnie Yonekura of La Mesa, whose video captured the hearts of San Diegans across the county, have won the grand prize of wedding bands from San Diego-based Honey Jewelry Co. valued at $3,500 plus $10,000 cash.

More than 3,900 votes were cast with the winning video, in which Ms. Valenzuela proposes to Mr. Yonekura, receiving just shy of 29% of the popular vote. According to Valenzuela, “We both survived COVID. I’m not going to wait another day to propose to my soulmate and best friend. With seven kids between us, the only alone time we get is in Soapy Joe’s Tunnel of Love!”

The “Propose At Soapy Joe's” competition took place between Valentine’s Day and Sunday, February 28. Couples recorded videos of themselves committing their lives to one another from inside one of Soapy Joe’s “tunnels of love.” They then shared on Instagram tagging @soapyjoes and @honeyjewelryco, and submitted their video to Soapy Joe’s website. Anyone could vote on which of the 10 videos was their favorite, from March 2-8.

“I think one of the most enjoyable parts of this has been the creativity of the couples that participated and by doing so chose to make Soapy Joe’s part of their love story,” said Anne Mauler, VP of Marketing for Soapy Joe’s. “They represent the resilient spirit of our city, something that makes all of us proud to call San Diego home.”

All participating couples who shared qualifying proposals at the Soapy Joe’s website received a year of free washes. To view all the proposal videos, head to the Soapy Joe’s YouTube channel.