A man proposed to his partner by dressing up their three kids in t-shirts spelling out – ‘will you marry daddy?’
Romantic James Parry, 36, recruited Daniel, 10, Ella, six and Amelia, two, to ask his partner of nine years Kirsty Lamerton, 30, for her hand in marriage.
The youngsters stunned their mother and the bride-to-be by putting on red t-shirts with one word printed on each spelling out the adorable proposal.
James was so confident she would accept he had already booked the wedding day – including the venue, registrar and hair and make-up – before even popping the question.
And after Kirsty accepted his offer during their Spanish family holiday last week, their children revealed the words ‘she said yes’ on the back of their t-shirts at the magical moment.
Kirsty, of Plymouth, Devon, said: “My parents and his parents knew he was going to ask me which was so strange because I speak to my mum everyday, even when we were abroad so she was just waiting for me to announce it.
“He’s not even remotely romantic normally. I wasn’t expecting it at all and wouldn’t have even been surprised if he asked me to make him a cup of tea and put a ring in with the tea bags.
“He always wanted babies and a house whereas I was the driving force behind wanting to get married so I came to the realisation that it may never happen.
“I was in such shock, I just cried. There was a huge crowd gathered when he asked and some of them were joking saying it was very presumptuous and brave.”
James put in a pain-staking amount of work to his secret wedding plans before popping the question.
He secretly scrolled through Kirsty’s Pinterest board for inspiration as she slept.
He also spent time taking secret calls and making excuses to come home from work late so that he could have all elements of the wedding in place.
And wife-to be Kirsty said that the unexpected proposal, which took place in a ruined castle in Tossa de Mar, has left her proud of her husband-to-be.
“I was really impressed,” she said. “It’s not unusual for him to forget big events and leave me to buy my own birthday or Christmas presents, so for him to organise all of this is quite something.”
There were a few teething problems immediately prior to the proposal – one of their daughters fell over and was crying continuously, before all three children decided they wanted blue ice creams, leaving them with non-photogenic blue faces.
But James’ meticulous planning paid off, with Kirsty astonished that he even managed to book a venue which was on her shortlist – the Guildhall in Royal Parade, where Kirsty’s parents had held their wedding reception.
James also cleverly selected a date in the summer holidays so that all their friends who work in education could attend.
But since finding out, Kirsty says she has already taken back the reins, organising the finer details for their wedding planned for August this year.
Kirsty described herself and James as being “best friends” before they got together and believes this is where his confidence in their relationship came from.
“We met at work in Iceland a long time before we got together, about 14 years ago, and I’d say we were best friends but then things blossomed from there.
“I knew all his vices before we got together so there were no surprises.”
Kirsty said that having the kids involved so heavily made it extra special.
She added: “I just cried when I saw the kids in their t-shirts. It was amazing.
“Our wedding is centred around children as well.
“Our life is all about our kids so the proposal had to be with the children. It needed to have all five of us involved. I am really pleased they were. My eldest is obsessed with weddings and she is already planning things with me.”
