Three and a half years into our relationship, we planned to head to the Philippines over Chinese New Year. I was doing the online check in, but when the system couldn’t find our booking I nervously contacted our travel agent, only to find out she had lost our tickets. I was lost for words, but Christopher managed to get last minute flights elsewhere – I was open to a surprise! I was advised to look away at the check in counter and the immigration officer was briefed so he didn’t share the destination. Rushing to the gate – we were heading to Malé! Once we arrived in the Maldives, a hotel car dropped us off at a transit hotel. The resorts were all booked out during the busy season, so this was the only place available. Who cared, we were in the Maldives!

At 6am, Christopher woke me up claiming another surprise and explaining that we had to go back to the airport. The next thing I knew, the butler from Six Senses Laamu was guiding us onto a small plane to take us to the private island. The surprises didn’t stop there. From a private sailing boat, a spa treatment, a candlelit dinner on the beach, to sunset watching on a private sandbank, it was more than I’d ever imagined.

Getting off the boat to the sandbank, the butler quickly mentioned that the stunning dinner set up was for another couple, and that we were only booked for sunset watching on the beanbags. I laughed and said to Christopher that it was obvious some guy would be proposing to his girl at the romantic dinner, and that there’d be no better place! We watched the most beautiful sunset of our life and dolphins started to jump in front of us! I (understandably) freaked out and that was the moment he got on his knee and said, “Nicole, will you marry me?”

Bursting into laughter, excitement and so much joy, I screamed out a big “Yes!” Christopher had to confess that everything had been planned for months and he tricked me in every way. He even convinced our travel agent to send me a FAKE e-ticket. Being a wedding planner myself, he knew it was a very difficult task to surprise me but it was more than perfect!

See their wedding here.

We were spending Christmas in Australia and had been for dinner with my best friend (and subsequently Maid Of Honour!) in Bondi on Christmas Eve, before heading back to our Airbnb overlooking the beach. Dave had originally been planning a stocking style proposal, but instead chose to seize the perfect moment on the balcony (which was decorated with fairy lights) at about 1am. We celebrated by sipping champagne and watching the sunrise on the beach.

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Alex and I went to Japan for two weeks and celebrated our anniversary on the last night in Tokyo. We were at a very nice teppanyaki restaurant (where they cook your food in front of you) on the 52nd floor of a building in Shinjuku, and after the meal he proposed. It was very casual and intimate, nothing too cheesy (he knows me well!).

See their wedding here.

We got engaged in Tasmania. I was feeling unwell at the beginning of the trip, so Andrew had to change his plan for the proposal. But on the day he proposed it was perfect. We first had an amazing lunch in Home Hill Winery. The restaurant overlooked the green hills, where alpacas roamed freely. That evening, we checked in to our little teepee cabinet, which had a cosy fireplace. We had a short hike and Andrew proposed under the starlit sky. Besides the wallabies that were lurking around our food, it felt like it was just the two of us in the mountains.

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He proposed outside Osaka castle. I had an inkling he was going to propose during our Japan trip, however he left it right until the last day which definitely kept me guessing! He had considered doing it at Shibuya Crossing, so I’m very glad he settled on somewhere a little less busy!

See their wedding here.