Erica Breder, a first-generation American, stood mesmerized inside the Statue of Liberty’s crown. On the floor beside Breder was her … boyfriend?

“Will you be my wife?” Aaron Weisinger, of Danville, Calif., asked.

“Yes,” a stunned Breder whispered without hesitation. They kissed. A lot.

Only then did Breder notice that the couple were alone in the crown, which had reopened to visitors just minutes earlier after being shuttered since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Advocates of the reopening and visitors said it was a sign of the nation’s and New York’s efforts to put behind fears of the past by making it possible once again for people to visit the most famous U.S. symbol of liberty.

In a rarity for New York, there were no yells of “Get moving!” from the stalled crowd. Instead, they stood quietly before applauding after the couple’s lingering smooch.