I thought, what would be better than hearing from guys and gals about their incredible engagement stories from across the globe?! All of the couples below got engaged while traveling the world, or if they weren’t on the road, infused a hearty amount of travel into their proposal events. Take a look and get ready to fall in love. And boys, when in doubt, take her to Paris. 😉
A DIAMOND IN THE SAND
My then-girlfriend and I were taking our first ever trip to Asia. It was May 2010 and we arrived to Bangkok amidst great civil unrest in the metropolis, gazing out the plane’s window only to see explosions and buildings on fire. Limited to the airport due to a citywide curfew, this engagement trip was not off to a good start. So we hightailed it South to enjoy the more peaceful islands dotting the Andaman Sea.
On the agenda was the paradisiacal island of Koh Phi Phi Leh, which has risen to fame as the filming location of The Beach. We wanted to beat the tourist crowds, so we found a local long-tail boat guy to motor us into the pristine Maya Bay. Sure enough, we were among the very few people there and it was even more picturesque than we had imagined. Heather had no idea what was about to come.
The ring was in my bathing suit pocket, as we jumped onto the beach. It was at that moment that I realized I didn’t have a plan. Heather called me over to join her in the water but I couldn’t let the ring get wet. I insisted on staying on the beach and she couldn’t understand why.
Finally I buried the ring, marking it with a stick so that I could join Heather in the ocean. Coming back onshore, I realized that a couple of the few morning visitors had sat over the very spot where the ring was hidden.
I waited patiently for nearly an hour until they finally got up. Just as I went to recover the ring, a huge boat of Asian tourists pulled in and the disembarkation platform led right to my hiding spot. Urghhh!
I shoved my way though but now Heather was at my side. I had to distract her so she wouldn’t see what I was doing. “Um, hey Heather, look at that weird chick doing yoga over there!” Success! It worked. I had the ring back.
Burying the ring actually gave me an impromptu idea. I found a secluded spot on the beach where I once again buried it. I proceeded to ask Heather if she would join me in building a sand castle, which was completely uncharacteristic of me. She didn’t want to, but I insisted. She dug a little, until she struck the box, while I was already on one knee.
She said, “Yes!”
It was this journey that helped not only solidify our love for each other but also our love for travel. Five years later and we’re still roaming around the world together.
SNOWY ENGAGEMENT AND A WEDDING!
Mick and I both share a love of snowboarding. So much so that our holidays are usually spent discovering new mountains and places to snowboard.
In 2011, we went to Lake Tahoe in California on one of our snowboarding trips. We were snowboarding at Heavenly Resort, half way down a black run called Ellie’s, when Mick decided to ride up to the top of a small hill, off to the side of the run. Because I didn’t know he was going to do that, I didn’t have enough speed to take me to the top of the hill. I had a bit of a grumble as I was stuck halfway down the hill and decided that I wasn’t going to bother going up there. Mick said that I had to get up there as it was a really nice view and he wanted to take a photo at the top of a little section which overlooked the lake. So begrudgingly and with a bit more complaining, I hopped up in the most inelegant manner on my snowboard. I also refused to take my snowboard off for the photo and told him to hurry up! It was at that point that Mick got down on one knee and proposed. To say I was in shock (and a little sheepish) is an understatement. It was totally unexpected and perfect at the same time. And of course I said yes!
Two years later, we tied the knot. And yep, you guessed it, in the snow! We decided to get married in Queenstown, New Zealand. Being from Australia, Queenstown has always been a favourite destination for us for snowboarding trips. Plus it is just stunning there. I guess you could say we eloped. We didn’t want a big fancy wedding, we just wanted it to be true to us and memorable. We started out by taking a helicopter to the top of The Remarkables where we took our wedding vows. We then flew to the top of Coronet Peak. Landing on a ski hill was totally a rock star moment! From there we snowboarded down to the bottom, our version of a wedding waltz. We had a few friends and family there who greeted us at the bottom for a champagne toast. Later that night everyone came over to the house we had rented for some drinks, food and celebrations. The views of the lake from the balcony were amazing! It was a casual event, but oh so much fun!
ON TOP OF THE WORLD
Just several hours after returning from one of the most amazing trips of my life, I walked into my favorite restaurant with one of my closest girlfriends, expecting to attend a networking event coordinated by my neighbor. What I didn’t expect was that my life would be forever changed when I walked through the door.
The Sun Dial Restaurant is at the very top of the tallest hotel in the Southeast United States, gaining my favoritism simply because of my obsession with experiencing breathtaking views of places around the world – and this restaurant has the ultimate view of the place I call home. Little did I know that when I entered the iconic rotating restaurant, my father and several of my close friends (some who even flew in from other places) would be there too, waiting to take in this 360 degree view of Atlanta right along with me. And in the center of it all was the man who would be waiting for me, already down on one knee, prepared to ask me to spend the rest of my life with him.
It takes a special kind of man to marry a girl who travels; and this man is truly one-of-a-kind. I can honestly say I have the good fortune of not only marrying my best friend, but my lifetime travel partner-in-crime. For women who travel, it can be hard to find your soulmate…that one person who gets you and your constant obsession with globetrotting. But when you do find that special person, it’s magical.
A PARK PICNIC PROPOSAL IN LONDON
London is definitely one of the most romantic UK places to get engaged.
We are the Roaming Renegades, a married travelling couple whose love story spans across 3 continents after we were engaged in London, married in New York and honeymooned in Tokyo! First though it began with the amazing surprise which was the proposal in St. James’ Park, London. Paul had apparently been planning this for a little while but was actually unsure on where we would do it. Everyone, family, friends…even my boss knew all about this, but I had no idea! This was our first real trip away from home and to a city I had visited growing up many times and absolutely loved. He had originally thought he would do it one the London eye…but the idea of being inside a capsule for half an hour filled with strangers was enough to put him off. Little did I know as we stared across London that the ring was in his pocket…no wonder he was sweating so much!
But then came the proposal, simple and personal, just the way I would have planned it. We strolled around St. James Park for a while just after visiting Buckingham Palace, when we sat down for a picnic underneath a tree on a warm summer day. Just as I was finishing my sandwich he began to shuffle around a bit…I was starting to wonder what was going on. Then he asked me if he could ask me a question! Now I was really suspicious! I mean, who asks if they can ask something!! Then he told me to close my eyes…Suspicion level was through the roof, but yet I had no idea what as awaiting me when I opened my eyes! There he was, down on one knee with the ring! He didn’t even need to say anything, I just said yes!! 7 years later…we finally got married on the most perfect day ever! (Oh, and the ring didn’t fit!! But I’ll let him off, it was the first ring I ever had!)
THE MOST MAGICAL SITE ON EARTH
After travelling the world together for over 6 years, we had seen a lot of incredible places and experienced some amazing moments together. But nothing was as monumental as our 6-day expedition to Hang Son Doong, the world’s largest cave deep in the jungles of Vietnam.
A last minute opportunity while we were living in Phong Nha meant we could jump straight into a journey without the usual 1-year wait. More people have stood on top of Mount Everest than have been inside this cave.. After trekking for days we were finally inside the colossal cavern. We hiked through the section called “Watch Out For Dinosaurs”, and were now at the base of Doline 1, an exposed area of the cave where the ceiling had collapsed. The weather conditions were perfect, and we were lucky enough to get sun beams pouring into the chamber. I knew this would be the place I would pop the big question. I set up the camera, grabbed Alesha for a photo and moved down to a limestone platform. Alesha asked me how we wanted to pose for the image, and I said I already had an idea. With this I dropped on one knee, declared my never-ending love for her, and asked the girl of my dreams to marry me. In the heart of one of the most remarkable scenes on the planet, Alesha teared up and said yes!
SHE SAID YES IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS
It is impeccable timing for us to reflect back on our engagement as it is our ten year wedding anniversary this May. We were in France for two weeks with a three day stop in Paris. We had only been dating a little over a year so I had no idea engagement was on the table. Although I m,will admit when we were walking through the beautiful city it did cross my mind that this would be the perfect opportunity.
We had gone halfway up the Eiffel Tower earlier that day and Dave said he wanted to see it at night. He was extremely adamant that we make it back there. As we were gazing out into the dazzling city lights, he approached me from behind whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I thought to myself, “Wow, Paris really is the city of romance. Dave has been bitten by the love bug.” I had no idea what was happening.
It wasn’t until the words “spend the rest of our lives together” came into play that I grasped he was proposing! Once that happened, I turned around and noticed he was holding a ring. It was romantic, and exciting all strung up into a ball of perfection. I like to think getting engaged 4,000 miles away from home set the tone for our future relationship. It has been a wild ride and we look forward to where life will take us next.
A ’ROUND THE WORLD PROPOSAL ON HER FRONT DOORSTEP
Haydn and I have been together for about 6 years. At the 2 year mark in our relationship we packed our bags, moved to South Korea and started our mad love affair with travel. With this travel, our relationship grew stronger than we ever thought possible. We recently started planning our next adventure to Central and South America, excited to see more of the world!
Due to the fact that Haydn and I had been saving money for this long term trip, we agreed that for Christmas we would treat ourselves to a nice steak dinner as a gift to each other. We made reservations on Christmas Eve. The plan was for me to pick up Haydn and drive there for our 8:00pm reservation but plans quickly changed when I heard the doorbell ring unexpectedly. I ran downstairs and greeted Haydn who was all dressed up (might I add he looked so handsome!) with a gift in his hand. I opened the gift and it was a hand made passport. As I I read each page of the book that he had made and looked at photographs from all the places we had traveled to and where we planned on going, I realized what it all meant, I looked over at Haydn who’s hands were shaking. I reached a page which read “However there is one question I need to ask you” and I quickly closed the book because I was overwhelmed at what I knew I would read next! Then, as I opened the book again I read the words “Will You Merry Me?” Haydn got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes!!! (after using my awkward humour and asking to see the ring first lol). The ring is perfect and we could not be happier to be engaged and going on our next adventure!
THE MOST ROMANTIC SPOT FOR A SUNSET PROPOSAL
It all started as a gift for my birthday in May. He had surprised me with flights to Greece for July! At that moment and all the days leading up to our trip it was just one of the many trips he and I love to take together. We planned and made reservations together like usual. So I didn’t find anything suspicious. Turns out since he knows I’m obsessed with sunsets, he was planning to propose on our second night in Santorini while watching its famous sunset. However, we got there too late and missed it. The next afternoon we were off to Milos. On our last night there after a day of exploring Milos’ coasts we drove to the town of Plaka for dinner. After dinner we climbed the steps to the ruins of a castle on top of a mountain. One of the highest peaks in Milos. My sister’s boyfriend was in on it but my sister was as clueless as I.
Then, just as the sun was setting, he got down on one knee and proposed. It was perfect! Since the island is less touristy there were a handful of people on the mountain with us so captivated by the sunset that they didn’t even notice the proposal. It was a magical beautiful moment in public that still managed to be very personal. To top it off my sister’s boyfriend put together a makeshift tripod using rocks so he could capture a time lapse video of the sunset while he recorded our proposal.
A LONG DISTANCE LOVE LEADS TO A TOKYO PROPOSAL
It was a street food stall in China, deliberating over a selection of indistinguishable snacks, that I got talking to an American, a fellow expat in Tianjin. Fast forward three years, three continents, countless air miles between the US and Scotland, and our long distance relationship had taken us to our fourth country: Japan.
Only a few hours after I arrived, we were at dinner in a traditional izakaya, located under the Yurakucho train tracks in Tokyo. The table was barely visible under the plates of fresh fish from the famous Tsukiji Market, and there was so much hustle and bustle than when my boyfriend excused himself for a minute, I thought nothing of it.
Little did I know that it had all been planned out in advance – right down to where I was sitting. My seat at the long wooden table meant I didn’t realize he was walking towards me, now in a suit, until the last minute, when he tapped me on the shoulder and bent down on one knee. Of course, I said yes, so there was plenty of celebratory champagne and – since we were in Tokyo – shochu cocktails.
A chance meeting in China, an engagement in Tokyo, and a wedding in New York City. As I found out, you never know where travel will take you!
SURPRISE ROMANCE AT THE SACRE COEUR
Mark and I had been together for 6 years when we decided to go on our second trip to Europe with our 10 month old daughter Willow. There had been no proposal on the first trip or after our daughter was born so I thought there may be a slight chance on this trip! All my hopes were completely dashed on our arrival to Amsterdam where we had managed (or so we thought) to lose our passports and all our essential documents. We had pulled out everything from all our bags and I had thoroughly checked everything for our documents, there was no sight of a tiny little ring box! I put the idea out of my head and enjoyed our trip. Mark and I loved showing Willow around, Willow especially loved all the pigeons!
So one beautiful mild morning, we decided to take some left over croissant up to Sacre Coeur to feed the birds with her. We sat right at the top over looking the city and we were blessed with a lovely clear sky! Willow sat in her pram between the two of us throwing little pieces of croissant at the birds, laughing at them all fighting over the tiny pieces! We had started to run out of croissant so the birds had started to thin out slightly,when Mark said
“Rebecca”
“Yes, Mark?”
“So, do you wanna marry me?”
*Shocked silence by me as he is thrusting a beautiful engagement ring at me!
“Are you shitting me?!”
Ok, not the best response I admit that but I was stunned…THERE WAS NO TINY RING BOX IN OUR LUGGAGE!
“Well?” Both Mark and Willow were laughing at me by this stage! I started laughing too and finally said “Yes”. Mark put the ring on my finger and Willow started clapping her hands!
All I could do was shake my head in disbelief and laugh! And I had been believing there was not a shred of romance in my future husband!
RETURNING TO THE BERLIN HOSTEL WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
I was spending the summer in the Netherlands with my boyfriend, where he went to university, before I went back for my final year and graduated. We planned a trip to Berlin, where we first met, but thing’s didn’t necessarily go as planned. We planned to take the train from The Hague, where we were living, to Berlin with a couple of changes and then were going to fly back. Having already changed once we had just crossed the border in Germany when the train began to slow down tremendously in a field in seemingly the middle of nowhere. Then it stopped. The sun was beating down through the windows, turning it into a greenhouse, and there was no air conditioning. Eventually another train was sent to come and tow us to the nearest regional station, where we had to take a bus to a station that could take us to Berlin. No direct trains to Berlin, of course, so we got one to Hamburg and from there had a very tight connection to Berlin. Hours later we arrived on a beautiful summer’s day and decided to walk from the station to the hostel where we were staying and had first met over a year earlier. While sitting on the grass in font of the Brandenburg Gate at dusk, he pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him. It was romantic and beautiful and after such a crazy day it made for a great ending and even better story. We’ve been married now for a year and a half and we will have met in Berlin 4 years ago this April.
FLY AWAY WITH ME
My now husband, Chris, and I had been dating for 2 1/2 years. I had just gone through one of the most incredibly difficult times in my life, my father, whom I was very close with {my mom passed away when I was a child } had just passed away after a 7 month battle with cancer. Chris was my rock throughout the entire ordeal. 4 months later a getaway was definitely what we needed. We decided on Vegas and the Grand Canyon! We spent the 1st 5 days of the trip enjoying The Grand Canyon and a side trip to Sedona, AZ, which Chris just “happened” to suggest. It was incredibly beautiful but very windy the entire time we were there. So on to Vegas we went. The 1st night we were there I of course insisted that we go see a show! So after dinner and a late night I was excited to sleep in the next morning. Little did I know…4am rolls around and Chris wakes me up and says he has a surprise! I told him he could keep his surprise at that hour! Anyway I finally get up and dressed and we head down stairs. Were waiting in the lobby for someone to pick us up when a van pulls up with a huge hot air balloon painted on the side!! I have always wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride and was giddy with excitement! After a short drive we arrived at the balloon. It was a private ride with just the two of us. The scenery was fantastic and it was so peaceful and so quiet. After a short while, I swear he just couldn’t hold it in any longer, Chris turned me around and with a short and sweet ” Jenna Mary Costello, will you marry me?”, he asked me to be his wife! { He is not a man of many words } I was SOOOO nervous when he was putting the ring on me. I kept picturing it going over the side! Since I was crying hysterically and shaking! I could barely even get the words out to say YES!!! We REALLY enjoyed the rest of the ride after that and a few more days basking in engagement glow in Vegas! I later found out that he had planned the balloon ride in Sedona but they cancelled on him since it was so windy! so he had to plan one in Vegas on the sly! I had no idea!! 4 year later we are happily married and loving life!!
3 RINGS, ONE BRIDE
In girl world, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it, according to Mean Girls. In my world it’s the day that Craig proposed, after three years of courting! It’s also my favourite celebration of the year as I adore fancy dress. Craig is a total space geek so it didn’t come as a surprise that he proposed at the H.R MacMillan Space Center in Vancouver, the city in which we were living at the time. We went to see a show about the planets, and at the end of the show, he got down on one knee, whilst the fake stars glistened above, and presented me with a plastic straw cover fashioned into a ring. This ‘ring’ was originally a paper straw cover from Colombia, which progressed into a plastic straw cover in Cuba with the promise that one day it will be made of some kind of metal. A week later we picked a ring made by a local Vancouver designer and when we get home this August I get the real deal, a family heirloom passed down to my by my great aunt!
Surely, I’m the only girl that will have three engagement rings made from different materials from the same guy?!
LOVE WRITTEN IN THE SAND
Baía Formosa is a place that will always have a special place in my heart. The reason isn’t its sandy beaches, blue waters, tasty food or friendly locals; the reason is that Baía Formosa is where my boyfriend (excuse me…fiance!) recently proposed to me.
For our anniversary, Thiago decided to take me away on a secret weekend break; we ended up in a peaceful fishing town on Brazil’s northeast coast, a two and a half hour journey from the closest city, Natal. The beach at Baía Formosa has natural pools of water with a view of fishing boats to one side and coconut trees to the other.
That evening Thiago took me for a romantic walk along the beach. We dipped our feet in the water and admired the beautiful natural scenery. During our walk I noticed he was acting strange, distracted and edgy but romantic at the same time.
Just as the sun was setting, he asked me to look away so he could write me a message in the sand.
When I looked around again he had written “will you marry me?” along with a big heart, and to my surprise he produced a gold ring with a sparkly ruby. I was so shocked I almost choked on my coconut water!
Can you guess what happened next? …I said yes!
We are now backpacking around the rest of South America and plan to get married in Brazil sometime next year.
THE MAGICAL BLUE FOREST
My (now) husband, Michael, brought me to his home country of Belgium to show me where he comes from. This was my first time traveling outside of the United States (except for Rocky Point, which I don’t really count) and the trip really opened my eyes to so many new & exciting things. It was a different way of life and there seemed to be so much more to see. It was easier to travel and take city trips; this really got my need to travel going!
One day while hiking through the Blue Forest Michael suddenly stopped, dropped to one knee and asked me to spend my life with him! We decided to skip our ticket back home (we had packed everything up in storage before leaving, anyway) and stayed in Belgium.
We have been married for 4 years now and have built up a production company that allows us to travel constantly both for work and for pleasure 🙂
WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS
It was our first international trip together, heading to Europe. We were going to Spain to meet my best friend and her husband, but we added a stop in Paris beforehand. After landing in Paris late at night to snow, we dropped our bags off at our Airbnb and headed to dinner. Tip had it all planned out, and I should have realized he had something up his sleeve, because he was actually planning things, but I was still oblivious. We got to the Eiffel Tower, and of course I was cold and had to use the bathroom. I almost ruined the surprise being so impatient! He wanted to wait longer, as he knew the lights would be turning on soon. I had no idea what was going on but luckily, we waited a little longer. Then at the top of the hour, the lights on the tower started flashing and Tip got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! He even got someone next to us to get it on video! Almost three years later, and I’m still shocked that he managed to plan it all out AND keep it a secret!
SIMPLE AND BEAUTIFUL ON A DESERTED BEACH
We had been traveling together for more than two years, when we got the chance for one of us to go on a press trip to Croatia. We decided that Jonathan would go to the press trip, while Kach would go to Nicaragua on her own for a couple of weeks, the longest we had been apart since we got together. We’re not a massively clingy couple, but it it was still a bit weird. When Jonathan got back, we met up in Panama City and decided to take a sailboat to Colombia through the San Blas Islands, not one of the backpacker party boats, but a classic 1960’s twin mast ketch, with real beds, beach barbecues on desert islands and crystal clear blue waters. On our final day there before 3 days of open water sailing to reach Cartagena, Kach and I took the dinghy across to one of the deserted beaches nearby, where I proposed to her sitting on a fallen palm tree by the sea.
