When I finished college, I moved to Queensland for two years. I eventually became home sick and moved back to Canberra. I was out partying one night with girlfriends at a bar and Mark asked a mutual friend to introduce us. We danced for a while and he asked me out to dinner the following Saturday night – I knew he was the one from that first dance. We bought a house together two years later and lived there for three years – Mark told me that he had won a prize on a local radio station for us to go skydiving. I had never done anything like it before and was very nervous, but he kept telling me that it would be ok and that I would love it. We went up in a tiny plane and when we reached 10,000 feet, it was time to jump – just before Mark jumped out, he looked at me and asked me to marry him! Of course I said yes and jumped out after him. When we landed friends and family were waiting for us with champagne and of course, the ring. It was very romantic and a huge surprise.

We first met in a Brisbane pub in 2003. We didn’t exchange details at that time but met again at another Brisbane pub around 3 months later. We have been together ever since. Michael proposed on our 5th anniversary together. He had me convinced that it would never happen because he couldn’t afford a ring. Little did I know that he had opened a secret bank account and was saving for a ring. After we had been out for dinner he told me that he had a small gift for me – even though we said no anniversary gifts. He presented me with a beautiful engagement ring.

I was on an Oktoberfest tour in Germany and Ben was my tour guide. I thought he was very good looking and full of personality as I’m sure did most of the girls on the tour. We chatted on the bus home and he mentioned that he had moved out of his share house in London and needed a place to stay or “doss” (backpacker term). I offered my lounge room and he took me up on it and the relationship grew from there. We stayed in London a couple more years and then backpacked around USA, Canada and Sth America before heading home. Whilst in Peru in South America we decided to trek the Inca Trail. After five days of very little sleep, very little food and heaps of walking we reached machu picchu the famous Inca ruins. It was here at sunrise overlooking the ruins that Ben asked me to marry him. Exhausted as we were it was a beautiful proposal and of course I said yes!