34-year old Dale Sharp may have won the award in having captured one of the most romantic proposals we’ve seen in a while, after posting one of the dreamiest engagement photos on his Instagram. Set against the remarkable Northern Lights, the stunning image shows Dale down on one knee, while his then-girlfriend (now fiancé!) Karlie Russell looked on. While the photograph is so remarkable that it can be used as an advert for true love, the real story behind the proposal was anything but perfect.
In an interview with Daily Mail Australia, Dale shared how he had already attempted to propose to Karlie during their vacation to Iceland last year, cleverly hiding the ring in a bottle of moisturizer. As luck would have it, their luggage was overweight Karlie discarded some items to avoid overweight fees, including the bottle of moisturizer! Dale had no idea that she threw it away, as he explained to the Daily Mail: “I didn’t know until a week, weeks after when we were in Iceland and I was looking everywhere for the ring. I asked her where the moisturizer was and she told me she threw it out in the airport.”
Dale saved up for a new ring and decided that his second proposal attempt would be on the seventh anniversary of their first date, but when he witnessed the Northern Lights on Monday, he realized that it was the perfect moment.
“It was the most amazing display of color in the Aurora that we’ve ever seen,” he said. “I wanted to take [the] full opportunity and make it happen at its absolute best. The moment was right, it felt good, so why not.”
Of course, Dale’s photography skills played a big role in capturing the picture-perfect moment. After tricking Karlie into thinking they were shooting a selfie, Dale used a torch to light up their profiles in the photograph then set his camera on timer.
