Proposal at the Mission

Zan Boylan wishes she’d given her boyfriend a little more than a box of Hershey’s Kisses for Valentines Day.

By the end of the day she’d had a hug from Melanie C, been serenaded by an orchestra and had a platinum diamond ring on her finger.

Brian Cowley, 30, got down on one knee and said: ‘‘Instead of giving you a card, I wanted to give you a ring.’’

A 72-piece orchestra and band then started up so the couple could slow-dance in the centre of the Mission Estate Winery stage in Napier during a sound check.

Ms Boylan, 33, from Auckland, knew Mr Cowley must have had something up his sleeve when he claimed he hadn’t got her a Valentines present. ‘‘But nothing like this!’’ Mr Cowley was beaming. The couple met through work. Mr Cowley admitted he had been putting off meeting a new work contact named Zan.

Eventually they organised a business meeting, and he was ‘‘pleasantly surprised’’ when a ‘‘gorgeous woman’’ walked towards him.

They hit it off and were soon ‘‘deeply in love’’, he said. ‘‘You know when it’s right it’s right.’’

He bought tickets to the Mission concert thinking it would be a nice weekend away, and a chance for Ms Boylan to see Ronan Keating and Melanie C.

But as their relationship progressed, he realised he wanted to marry her. He bought a platinum diamond ring while visiting his family in the Isle of Man at Christmas.

As he mulled over how to propose, he decided to email the concert organisers to see if they could help him out with a Valentines Day proposal on the eve of the concert. They were more than happy to oblige.

He told Ms Boylan that a friend of a friend had got them into the sound check. She had no idea until he was holding the ring out to her.

After he asked, ‘‘Which finger is it?’’ the couple hugged and danced to Alicia Keys’ If I Ain’t Got You.