Our Engagement - Remembering How It Happened

Last weekend Jess and I spent a fantastic couple of days with one of the most wonderful couples around – Sam and Fryze (Ryan). We find ourselves laughing at how similar we are to these two and when we are together its always great fun! On Saturday we spent the day tiki-touring around Brisbane – New Farm Park, a City Cat 'cruise', Southbank (including Max Brenners of course!) the city and then up to Mt Cootha lookout. 

On Sunday Jess and I headed down to the Gold Coast and had a great lunch at Kurrawa Surf Club followed by a trip to The Dracula’s Haunted House at Sam’s request. Jess wasn’t a huge fan of the haunted House, which she made us (and most likely most of the Gold Coast) aware of by the caliber of her screams.

It was quite suiting that we spent the weekend with these two. It was one year ago on an evening with them to Launceston’s Festivale, that I received a very important phone call. A call that made Valentines Day 2011 one we will never forget. I don’t think anything I do this year could compare but on the eve of our one-year ‘engagement anniversary’ I thought you might like to read the story of how Jess and I came to get engaged on national TV, which you can watch (here).

Jess in Manly the day before we got engaged

It was Tuesday the 8^th of February and we had been back in Tasmania for two weeks after being displaced from our apartment in Brisbane due to flood damage. The Morning Show was providing background noise in the kitchen of Jess’ family home when a segment caught my attention. A competition offering the winner the chance to propose on live TV to share a bit of Valentines Day love. Why not? I strung a few words together and hoped for the best.

On Friday I was excited to receive a couple of calls from Channel Seven wanting a bit more information about Jess and I and some pictures. This was promising although my absence while I took phone calls and sent emails didn’t go entirely unnoticed by Jess who was a little annoyed at the effort I was putting into what she thought was insurance claims and the fact she had to leave the room every time my phone rang. Little did she know what was coming.

It was Friday evening when I got the all important confirmation phone call – we won! We were on the way to Festivale and Jess was in the car so some quick thinking had me drop Jess at the gate and ‘find a park’ AKA call the girls at Channel Seven back to get things rolling. In 38 hours we were going to Sydney!

Saturday the stories began. I had to give Jess a reason to go shopping and buy some dressy clothes since most of hers were in Brisbane. I enlisted the help of Jess’ step-mum and told them both that Jess needed something to wear ‘out to Dinner somewhere two hours away, near the water.’ Jess was convinced we were going to Coles Bay, on the East Coast of Tasmania.

  

Sunday morning the stories continued. We were off to collect a fancy rental car from the airport (thankfully this was the closest place offering car rentals). I left Jess waiting while I went and ‘collected the keys’. She had no idea and was shocked when I came back with two boarding passes for the plane that was in the final stages of boarding.

Once we were seated, the questions started and I thought Jess might have been onto me. She was quite content when I told her we were going for a bit of R and R and to visit her cousins after such a challenging start to the year. Walking through the CBD I had Jess on the lookout for her cousins car who ‘was going to collect us’. Surprisingly she hadn’t appeared when we arrived at the Westin on Martin Place. I told Jess that I thought it would be too hectic to stay with family and some time to ourselves would be good for us!  

For the rest of the afternoon I had no plans. Jess suggested we go to our favorite restaurant in Manly for some lunch. It was here I dropped ‘the bombshell’ – I had 'arranged for Jess and I to do an interview with Felicity Harley (Editor of Jess’ beloved Woman’s Health Magazine) about staying motivated to maintain a healthy lifestyle'. This didn’t go down the way I had planned. Although Jess is usually an outgoing person with people she knows, sometimes she is very shy and self-conscious around people she doesn’t. The thought of doing an interview with someone she regarded so highly was a little overwhelming and she wasn’t impressed that I had arranged it for her. Mad would not begin to describe it. She didn’t finish lunch or talk to me for most of the afternoon. I was worried she might not agree to come to Channel Seven in the morning.

Monday morning arrived and Jess had built up the courage to ‘do the interview’ but not even that was going to calm my nerves. Keeping Jess from flicking the TV onto Sunrise or the start of the Morning Show while she did her therapies was a welcome distraction. At 9.30 AM we left the hotel and made our way across Martin Place to Channel Seven. It was exceptionally hard not to show my excitement or give any hint of what is to come.

As soon as we walked through the door and past reception Jess was whisked away to hair and make-up and I finally got to meet the wonderful ladies who had spent their weekend planning my big moment. Every time I see the Channel Seven commercial that says, "while you're sleeping, we’re working", I think to myself just how true that is! The girls had put in a huge effort and could not contain their excitement at showing me the ‘Rock’ from Mondial Neuman. There was no word but "WOW" and I was concerned the box needed to house it was so big Jess was going to notice. 

I sat waiting for Jess to come back and thought about what I was going to say. Jess arrived, promptly followed by Felicity Harley to have a quick discussion about how ‘the interview’ was going to work and the questions Jess was going to ask and be asked. Felicity could not stop smiling and I was petrified her excitement was going to give something away, but Jess must have been too nervous to be suspicious. The final moments are a bit of a blur. We had our microphones put on and both Jess and I were concentrating so hard on what we were about to do that we didn’t notice a lot of the things going on around us… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… and I guess the rest is history. 

In hinds sight I cannot believe Jess didn’t suspect a thing! Thank goodness she didn’t because it made the moment all the more special. The past year marks a very special time in our lives and of course there is something just as special yet to come… Stay tuned in the coming days for an exciting continuation!

-Cam