It was my birthday and my parents had taken me out for breakfast that morning. As far as I was aware it was just another birthday. Josh came around to my parents place to pick me up and took me to lunch at a local vineyard. He wasn't acting strange at all, so I had no idea there was any special plan for the day. Once we had finished lunch he handed me a letter – it was a long A4 page of rules and instructions for the rest of the afternoon. He'd organised a treasure hunt around the area I grew up in. I was stoked that he had gone to the effort to organise something fun and thoughtful for my birthday….Little did I know! …..The final envelope read "Sit down, pour yourself a wine, enjoy the scenery and when you're ready open the envelopes starting at number one". Josh had written a romantic poem for me which was broken up into small parts, and had been placed inside each envelope. I got to the last envelope and the line of the poem which read "turn around I'm standing behind you". I swung around and saw Josh all dressed up with his hands behind his back standing two metres behind where I was sitting. As he approached me I asked 'what are you doing!?'. He got down on one knee, pulled out a gorgeous white gold diamond ring from behind his back, and said the final lines of the poem, asking if I would make him the happiest and luckiest guy in the world. He then asked "Kate will you marry me" and then the tears came (from me, not Josh). I forgot to actually say 'yes', so he had to remind me to answer him, to which I said 'yes'!NOTE: This story has been shortened for the blog

My fiancé Darren returned from a trip to Singapore in May 2010 (I could not accompany him as I am doing a Masters degree) and as he had many nice dinners over there with his family he suggested that we go out for a nice dinner that Saturday night. He didn’t tell me where we were going but said as we were all dressed up we should go and have a look in DFS Galleria (the big white beautiful duty free store in the CBD) just like the movie ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ so I thought why not! Anyway we were milling around the shelves looking at stuff and he said that a trip to Galleria wouldn’t be complete without a trip to my favourite store Tiffany’s! As I was looking in the cabinets he said ‘pick one’ (just like in the movie ‘Sweet Home Alabama’) which I laughed off as Tiffany’s in New Zealand only stock diamond wedding bands, necklaces etc and no engagement rings. Then I turned around and he got down on one knee holding a little blue Tiffany’s box and asked me if I would marry him JI was so shocked and happy that I started crying! The Tiffany’s sales assistant had her camera out and was proceeding to take a million photos of us and gave me a single red rose (which Darren had dropped off there earlier), so I was standing in Tiffany’s with a rose and the Tiffany’s box crying tears of joy and having my photo taken, when the manager of the store appeared with a card and box of Belgium chocolates to wish us congratulations. He also pulled out a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket and champagne flutes and gave us a glass each. Needless to say I was a little overwhelmed with it all (but very very happy!). He took us up to their private longue to enjoy the champagne and make a few quick phone calls (both my parents already knew as Darren had asked them both earlier in the week). Then we headed off to an amazing dinner at Clooney in Ponsonby JIt was a magical experience and I can’t stop smiling! It turns out Darren had purchased the ring in Singapore (so his family over there all knew about it). He had kept it well hidden for 2 weeks and orchestrated the whole Tiffany’s proposal idea with the help of them, however the champagne/chocolates/manager turning up was a surprise for both of us and so nice of them! It was a dream proposal and we are both loving being engaged

Confessions of a Details & Control Freak who likes to figure everything out.After Fiance had visited my Dad to bravely ask for my hand in marriage, it was all go. I was told earlier in the week to be prepared for Saturday evening because that was to be The Day for the Proposal. To satisfy my incessant need to know all things, Fiance gave me a clue each day to keep me happy :) So all week I was furiously trying to figure out what on earth my proposal was going to entail! I thought I had it figured out…Like a typical girl, come Saturday evening I was starting to freak out not knowing what to wear as I knew this was such an important evening. Thank goodness for great flatmates & hot cups of tea to calm me down! Fiance picked me up from my house, and we went out to Cin Cin restaurant – a place he knew I'd wanted to get to forever but hadn't got the chance to go. Great choice and I would have been happy with just this! But after dinner, I was told I was going to be blindfolded… the rest I had no idea about!Fiance kept looking at his phone during dinner as texts came in and I was not able to look at the phone so I became more and more curious as to what was going to happen – slightly freaking out (on the inside of course!). After dinner, we got back to the car and I had to sit in the BACKSEAT with a blindfold on. I was a bit put out about having to sit in the backseat – couldn't figure why that was important. I told him "this better be good if I have to sit in the backseat of my own car!!" lolWe started driving around with me blindfolded and I tried so hard to figure out where we would be going but completely lost track. We seemed to be driving forever, until we slowed down and someone opened the front passenger door and hopped in! I had NO idea who it was so was slightly freaking out, and the mystery passenger wasn't saying a word, but Fiance was reassuring me it was all going to plan and I was "doing so well!" hahaAfter driving around with me blindfolded still, we pulled into a driveway (from what I could tell) and stopped. I was told to remain in the car – he would come back and get me. I was so nervous at this point, and was also hoping that no random carjacker would hop in the car and drive off because I wouldn't have had a clue! A couple of minutes later Fiance came and got me , navigated me blindfolded in some killer heels up a flight of stairs and into a room. Didn't have a CLUE where I was.He faced me a specific way and said to take the blindfold off but keep my eyes shut. Finally, I was allowed to open my eyes…My very best friends were standing in front of me!! Yaaay! (one of these friends had been the mystery passenger I was told later). Then in a couple of seconds I realised I was standing in my own dining room! Fiance had led me up the back stairs of the house and in the back door which we hardly ever use so I wouldn't figure it out – he knows me well ;) However, I didn't even recognise my house. In the time we'd left and gone out for dinner, my flatmates (who were in on the whole thing and had made it look like they were settling in for a night of dvd's) had been instructed to set up LOADS of candles, white draping fabric, fairy lights, hanging white lanterns, lots of my favourite light coloured roses, candles in jars out on the back deck… After taking this in for a couple of seconds I turned around and he was on one knee :) "Melissa… will you marry me?"I was so excited after I saw the ring I almost forgot to say yes!My best friends were in tears at this point lol. We have such a great group of close mutual friends & it was the best idea having them there sharing this amazing moment with us – I loved it so much! and was sporting a crazy grin which I haven't quite been able to shake :)I think he did such a good job for a boy hehe, and dealing with me and my need for details! He's awesome :)

Sean had been telling me about a surprise trip away for weeks and the only think i knew was that i'd potentially need togs, and some really dressy clothes but wouldn't tell me any more. All's he said was that he had a plan, but it depended on the weather. Anyway, he picked me up, we packed our things in our van we converted into a 'camper van' ourselves, and headed west. We arrived at Piha and walked around the rocks where there was nobody. It was cold and windy so we sat one behind eachother and watched the surfers. He started telling me that he wanted to always surprise me and treat me to things i wasn't expecting. He then told me that he had planned to send me on a hang-glider because I had always wanted to go on one, but the wind was going off shore and you need an on shore wind for this, (little did I know this was his 'plan a' and he was going to write will you marry me in the sand), then he said, "so instead i was going to send you in a glider plane because I think you'd love that just as much" (again, this was plan B, and he was going to spray paint a huge sign saying 'will you marry me' as i came down), but you cant fly glider planes when it's raining because they become too heavy).. at this point i'm thinking why is he telling me all this? couldn't we do it next weekend? then he got up and walked away…. again, i'm thinking what you tell me wierd stories and bugger off? whaaat? so I was watching him walk away wondering why he was acting so strange when he jumped down a ledge out of sight and yelled "kez! kez! (my nick name) come look!" so I stumbled accross and peered over the ledge to see sean down on one knee with a beautiful ring he had designed with my brother (an engagement ring designer! *lucky me!*)…I remember thinking the things he was saying at this point was amazing and he was tearing up but i was in such shock I wasn't capeable of taking his words in.. and i couldn't find the strength in my legs to stand up and walk around to him so i crawled down to him and hugged the crap out of him.. I was so emotional i couldn't find the words to say yes… but he understood my not and a shakey mmm hmmm!!!! Sean and I had been going out almost a year and we're not yet living together. I had thought of the possiblity of getting engaged but always thought it would be somehting we'd talk about or i would expect.. I'm so glad i didn't! and i'm so glad he was right there with me at piha. Plan a and plan b were amazing.. but there would have been alot of time and space to get through before i was with him hugging him, So i'm SO glad we got to plan c!

The day started early with a morning flight to Queenstown bubbling with excitment of seeing the snow.As the plane began its decent into Queenstown, we caught our first glimpse of the snow on the mountain tops.We checked into our hotel beside the lake with breath-taking views of snowcapped mountains and we went out for lunch.Tony had suggested we go up the gondola the first fine day, although little did I know he had more planned than just sightseeing.After lunch we strolled through the lake-side arts & craft market.There we saw a few miniture houses made of wood and stone. We liked the miniture houses so much we bought one to place in our new home (before we even bought the house).Then we made our way up to the ticket office for the gondola.Tony bought our tickets and arranged a booking for dinner at the top.On the way up we were treated to the stunning views over looking Queenstown.After taking countless photos on the veranda overlooking the lake, we walked over to the viewing platform to watch several people do the AJ HAckett bridge swing and bungee.Soon it was just the two of us and we stood in awe of the scenery.Tony stood behind and put his arms around me, and said "We've been together now for four years". Then he reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a ring box, got down on one knee and opened it. I turned around and was so surprised. He asked me to marry him and with tears welling up in my eyes, I said yes!We celebrated with a beautiful dinner with a window view of the lights of the town and the night sky.Now we have a little reminder of that special day, a little house we bought together in Queenstown.

Glow: The ProposalStuart and I had survived 3 years of long distance when I moved back home to be with him at the beginning of 2010. We'd always known we would get engaged once we had finished our degrees, and after watching many (!!) of our friends take the big plunge, we were super excited about starting the journey ourselves (perhaps me a tinsey bit more!)So the wait began. Every time something slightly romantic happened, Stuart could see the anticipation in my eyes – that boy was keeping me waiting! January, February and March came and went, and after Easter (when I was POSITIVE it would happen), I was starting to get a bit impatient – I wanted to tell the world! Stuart had given himself a real challenge; he wanted to totally surprise me, and do something completely creative and different – not easy to say the least when I was over-analysing every nice thing he did. After a crazy week in April, the weekend arrived and so too an upsetting email from my boss. I completely wrote off the weekend, I didn’t think anything positive could come from it. Stuart had come to have lunch with me at work on the Saturday (as the comforting, supportive boyfriend who unfortunately got a bit of an ear bashing with my moans), and invited me round after work to have leftovers before heading out to a movie. I didn’t suspect a thing! I told him I’d be around at 7, so I could have some ‘me’ time to chill out. At 7.30 pm, I rang to say I was running late and taking my sweet time (in true ‘me’ fashion – poor guy!). In the end I arrived at 8 pm…I walked in the door (a bit ruggedly unfortunately), to be greeted immediately by Stuart. Apparently, he’d made something for me to cheer me up! Still hadn’t clicked by this point, but started to wonder when he turned on the song ‘Unbreakable’ by Evermore…He opened the doors to his dining room/lounge, and led me in to the ‘proposal’ area – eek!The lights were all off, but all around the room where glowing bowls of water in jars, vases, bowls and glasses. In the corner of the room, Stuart had made an INCREDIBLE art exhibition, whoa! He had taken photos using a technique called ‘light painting’, where he’d ‘painted’ pictures with an LED light while leaving the shutter open for 30 secs. All he pictures he took were related to the lyrics of ‘Unbreakable’ – and in perfect timing he led me along the photos to the song as it was playing. He then led me to a table that had a projection running, with flashing animated playing cards. Over the 3 & ½ years Stuart and I had been together, Stuart had been writing messages on playing cards and leaving them around the place to find – a symbol of how much we love playing games together. He’d stolen them all back from me, and had them all piled up on the table. Underneath the cards were his bible and the top of a card poking out. As the song came to an end, I picked the card out of 1 Corinthians 13 – and it read “Darling, will you marry me?” Stuart got down on one knee and popped the question, while producing a STUNNER of a ring that he had designed and had made!My nightmare weekend had become one of the best of my life, and while writing this I’m still blown away at how much love, care and creativity Stuart put into this proposal. He most definitely achieved his goal of a complete surprise, and one completely new and original! And one of the best parts of this whole journey has been FINALLY being able to tell the world, just how much I love this dude :)Kate, you can check out the photo album with Stuart's art exhibition at:http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&tid=1454873650480#!/album.php?aid=109397&id=1220117392Enjoy, I definitely did!!

Amazed….after months of saving hard, we finally left Auckland’s winter and was on our way to Bali, we arrived on the 30th of July, one day after my birthday and squeezed in a walk through the hustle and bustle of the Kuta streets and shops and had traditional Nasi Goreng (fried rice) for dinner. We tried to stay awake, but our eye lids got heavy and we had an early night.We woke up on the 31st of July, Saturday, with life feeling like a dream, unreal and unbelievable, finally our three weeks of exploring, relaxing and hot summer weather is upon us. We thought we would start our first official day in Bali by relaxing and swimming at Kuta beach. Tony went for a surf and I soaked up the sun. We returned to our hotel early afternoon, to have a rest being a bit jet lagged, and Tony suggested we go back to the beach to enjoy the famous Kuta sunset later. On the day I bought a summer dress, and I thought I’ll save it for a special occasion and Tony persuaded me to put it on, especially with it being so humid outside. We freshened up and thought we would ease ourselves into our long awaited holiday by both having a back massage. After total bliss and relaxation we strolled to Kuta beach and sat on the white sand, awaiting the sun to slowly set behind the ocean. Tony felt like a beer and went to get two ice cold Bintang’s (Bali Beers). While admiring the beauty of Kuta beach and amazed by all the people. Tony wanted to walk to the end of the beach where there is less people to watch the sun set from there. We started leisurely walking, and I felt as if he was in a bit of a hurry – I leaned towards walking to the water, and he leaned towards walking more to the sandy beach side hehe. We came to the spot that he wanted to be, and said that he had something to tell me..He swung his back pack of his shoulders and took out a little box, got down on one knee and asked ‘Janine, will you marry me?’ – I was so shocked, grabbed my mouth and thought, what a brave man to do this with so many people around us. I said yes, he opened the little box and inside was a shell in the form of a ring….he put it on my ring finger, and it fit perfectly as if it was meant to be.. (later I would find out that he saw the shell on a beach in New Zealand when he went for a surf) and thought it would be appropriate. We embraced and we both had eyes glistening – and I knew why he needed a beer!! But it didn’t end there, he took out his phone and put one ear piece in my ear and the other in his ear, and started playing some of my favourite songs – until today, I have no idea how he knew, how he knew which ones was my favourite… It was wonderful, romantic and I was taken by surprise and I was extremely impressed by his efforts!! We walked back and sat on the beach again, shaking of nerves and being happy and overwhelmed by love and joy for each other. And to top it off we went to have dinner at a lovely restaurant and they were playing the Rugby game between the All Blacks and Australia, and we won!! So Tony had his Surf, Sun, ‘Yes’ and a Winning Rugby Team!! We ended the day with a cocktail at our hotel!! Both living in a dream!! I still believe that when you know that the person you are with, is the one – there will be no doubt at all, you will be content, happy, calm and the love you have for each other will be unconditional, the way that person makes you feel in your heart, will be rare and everlasting…Janine & Tony

When I first saw Janelle in her beautiful yellow top almost 4 years ago I knew she would be the one I want to grow old with. She was not only beautiful, but had the personality to match.After dating for a year we moved to London. Janelle worked for a jewellery store, therefore choosing the right ring was a mamoth task. I spoke to few of her colleagues to get advise on the types of rings she would like, this was a year in the making. Finally I had it, a year later I decided that it was time for me to propose. I booked our trip to Paris (the city of love), there on the Eiffel Tower I got down on one knee and asked her to be my wife, to spend the rest of her life with me..and the rest is history!!

My Partner, Jayden was born on his mums birthday and we had decided to go out for lunch, including his mum and dad, nan and poppa, younger sister and aunty. when we got to the cafe, jayden runs for the car and yells at us he forgot something, we are all a wee confused, but its a jayden thing to do hehe. so we all order and go to our table. jayden returns and sits with us and everyone is completly clueless to what hes up to till he says to mum "can you do a video for me?" so she starts waving a camera around and then he gets down and asks "stacey, will you marry me?" of course i said yes, and his family were estatic, with lots of hugs kisses and hand shakings hehe. it was really beautiful, and im happy i have found the person i want to be with at such a young age :)