It's not everyday we get sent a gallery of proposal photo's from a helicopter ride overlooking the stunning Swiss Alps - so when we received these absolutely incredible photo's from Daniel and Lizzy we KNEW we had to write a blog about it! Lizzie and Daniel met in 2019 on a night out, and the rest has been history. They now live together in their first home just outside the Cotswolds and this year, 2022, Daniel wanted to take their relationship to the next level and pop the question - and my my, did he do it in style! Despite Lizzie being absolutely terrified of heights, Daniel planned a helicopter ride during their annual joint birthday holiday in Switzerland. A wonderful and mad idea, we spoke to Daniel about how it all went! Keep reading to find out...
Daniel & Lizzy | Helicopter Proposal in the Mountains | Ethica Engagement
Let's start at the beginning, how did you meet Lizzie?
Despite living just around the corner from each other for over 6 years prior, we first met on a night out in our home town of Newbury in 2019. There was a connection between us right from the get-go, and I plucked up the courage to ask her on a first date a few days later. It was on this date that we discovered we share the same birthday (albeit one year apart), which was a nice coincidence!
Have you been together long? Tell us your story!
After the first date, things progressed well and we became a couple soon after. Since then we’ve had a wonderful few years together, and in 2021 purchased our first home on the edge of the Cotswolds.
When did you know you wanted to propose?
We’d often spoken about our desire to get married in the future but agreed we needed to wait for the right time. After spending lockdown with each other and then moving in together, the time felt right to take the next step and propose to Lizzie.
What made you choose Ethica Diamonds and how did you find us?
Lizzie found the Ethica Diamonds website in early 2021 and was instantly drawn to it. The combination of being Cornwall based (Lizzie’s favourite place in the UK) and having such a wide range of sustainably produced rings was perfect.
What made you choose the Georgia Ring and how did you find buying the process?
Lizzie unknowingly chose the ring herself! After initially finding the Ethica website, she dropped some early hints by showing me a couple of her favourite designs. It wasn’t long after this that I decided I wanted to propose, so got in contact with the Ethica team and scheduled an appointment to visit their showroom whilst in the area.
As someone who didn’t know anything about jewellery, the thought of purchasing such an important ring was rather terrifying, but the team at Ethica were incredibly friendly and put me at ease right away. They clearly explained the stone options available, as well as more detail on what to look for in terms of cut, clarity and colour. I could see up close the style of ring I knew Lizzie liked alongside different stone sizes, which was so valuable in helping me decide.
How did you plan the proposal and how did it go!? Was she surprised and did she love the ring?
Planning something specifically for a proposal would’ve been incredibly hard to keep secret from Lizzie, so I needed to combine it with something else to keep her in the dark. Fortunately, it’s a bit of a tradition for us to go on holiday for our joint birthday each year, so this would be the ideal opportunity. We arranged a trip down to the Swiss alps, staying in the cities of Bern and Lausanne, and I began searching for the perfect nearby proposal location. I wanted to do something memorable and a bit of a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so thought what could be better than a ride in a helicopter! It would be a 30-minute flight through the alps, with a midway stop on top of a glacier for the proposal itself.
Daniel & Lizzy | Helicopter Proposal in the Mountains | Ethica Engagement
On the day, Lizzie initially saw the heliport and wasn't impressed - given that she doesn't even like going in lifts, a helicopter was quite a fear for her. Thankfully she agreed to get on, but had gotten rather pale at this point and didn't even look out the window for the first few minutes of the ride...! Unfortunately, we couldn’t land on the glacier due to fog, but our pilot managed to find a perfect spot nearby on top of another mountain. We landed, took a short walk, and that's when I proposed. She was very shocked and speechless for a few moments, but said yes and loved the ring!
We then got back on the helicopter - by which point Lizzie was much less scared and had gotten over her fear - and returned. The rest of the holiday was spent in a spa hotel on the shore of Lake Geneva - it was beautiful.
Daniel & Lizzy | Helicopter Proposal in the Mountains | Ethica Engagement
Have you got any plans for the wedding?
We are still in the early stages of planning, but we’ve set a date in February 2024 which will be exactly 5 years from our first date! The ceremony will be in the church of the town where we live, and the reception held in a lovely nearby Cotswold barn.
