Sheeran concert proposal imperfectly perfect
A proposal during Sunday night’s Ed Sheeran show in Dunedin almost didn’t happen when the singer failed to play the couple’s song.
Christchurch man Jason Higgins was waiting for ‘‘their song’’ to ask Tina Cummings marry him, but when the final song of the night came round, he thought he’d better pop the question anyway.
‘‘[Jason] waited all concert anxiously for our song to come on – How Would You Feel – and Ed never played it,’’ said Cummings.
‘‘I was totally shocked. As he knows I’m not a fan of crowds, and for him to propose in such a public place was the scariest thing ever. But man I love him, and I’ll definitely never forget our special night.’’
The couple, who have been together for 11 months, bought their Sheeran tickets about 10 months ago.
Higgins says he always thought a proposal during their song at a Sheeran show would be the best way to pop the question.
‘‘His friends were all in on it,’’ says Cummings. ‘‘They kept looking at him during all the romantic songs and apparently he was going ‘no, no’.
‘‘Then he says ‘This is going to be a bit awkward, he hasn’t played our song’. And I said never mind, it doesn’t matter. Next minute, he’s down on one knee and l’m like,’get up, get up!’.
‘‘It was quite spectacular and amazing.’’
Higgins said he had to ask in the last song, before the two encores, or miss his chance. The song playing was Sing.
Higgins’ friends had their phone lights trained on the couple during the proposal, which annoyed the audience around them until they realised what was going on.
‘‘By the end of it a dozen or 20 people were applauding us when we did it,’’ said Higgins.
The couple are planning their big day for September 2019, when all their family will be in New Zealand at the same time.
Things were less fraught for Emily Badcock and her partner Darren Mongan.
In the words of newly-engaged Badcock, Sheeran’s hit song Perfect was exactly that when he performed at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium.
Not only did the 23-year-old get to see one of her favourite musicians sing on March 26, but she also got engaged, when partner Darren Mongan popped the question as Sheeran played the romantic tune.
‘‘[Darren] had been hiding the ring in his pocket for five hours – so it was a good effort,’’ Badcock says.
‘‘Perfect started and he was fluffing about in his jersey. I was so close to telling him to move out of the way – he was in the way of Ed Sheeran. Then he gave me the box and told me to open it slowly and just say yes.
‘‘I opened it and asked if he was serious. He got down on one knee and that’s where everything became a blur.’’
The Nelson couple, who have been together for three years, travelled to Auckland for the show. But Badcock admits she ‘‘kind of forced’’ her partner to go with her.
She says in the madness that followed the proposal, it felt like they were the only two people in the packed stadium.
‘‘We had people all around us taking pictures and video and when we were leaving, people were still congratulating us. We were just shut off from everyone else – we didn’t realise they had been watching us over Ed Sheeran.
‘‘It was so special. You didn’t even realise you were in a crowd of 40,000 people.’’
Badcock had no idea the proposal was coming and even now, her fiance is being coy about how long he had been planning the public proposal. She says he didn’t tell anyone about his plan, including his family.
The only thing she knows is the plan was always to pop the question when Sheeran performed Perfect.
‘‘It’s lucky he played that song, otherwise I was getting a ring at Burger King, apparently,’’ Badcock says of her rose gold and diamond engagement ring.
‘‘I absolutely did not expect him to propose. I never had an inkling he would plan something like that – especially something so public.
The only downside? Having to pay extra attention when she clapped and cheered for Sheeran at the end of his show.