A Fairytale Proposal for ITS’ Engineer

A fairytale proposal has made 2010 a very special year for Industrial Technology Systems’ acting project engineer Laura Heathwaite, who has become engaged to her boyfriend Tony.

After teenage years spent in the same college group they had drifted apart, but recently met again through mutual friends.  Not only did they find they shared many common interests – in particular the cinema and dancing – but as Laura puts it:  “We realised we were made for each other.”

For their joint Disney-themed 30th birthday party earlier this year, they dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming, and friends were expecting a romantic proposal during the evening.  But Tony already had something much more memorable planned.

The next day the couple visited Fountains Abbey in Ripon, a well known North Yorkshire beauty spot that has been a favourite of Laura’s for many years.  At the end of a walk along the breathtaking High Ride, famous for its crowning panoramic outlook of the River Skell and the abbey ruins, known as The Surprise View, they shared Anne Boleyn’s Seat for their picnic lunch – and the scene was set.

“Tony brought out a present for me.  As I was unwrapping it he was telling me he had found the love of his life, and in true Cinderella style, left the ball and all he had left was a glass slipper. 

“At this point I’d unwrapped the present and inside was a Cinderella glass slipper in a box. Tony said whoever the shoe fits is the person he was going to marry and told me to open the box. When I opened the box there was a smaller box behind the slipper and this had my ring in, a beautiful gold band with a trio of diamonds. When I opened, it he asked me to marry him and I said ‘yes’.

“Very soppy and no I didn't cry but kept a big smile on my face for the rest of the walk. People must have thought I'd gone mad.” 

Plans for a September 2012 wedding  and Kenyan safari honeymoon are now underway, but in the meantime it’s work as usual, which for Tony is as a pharmacist at Boots in Middlesbrough.  And of course after the wedding, the couple will in true fairytale style “live happily ever after.”