The most romantic proposal in the galaxy
SHOWING two figures silhouetted against the stunning backdrop of the Milky Way, it is a unique record of a carefully planned proposal.
To capture the moment that Connor McLaren asked Jaimie McGregor to marry him at 3am in a freezing glen was impressive enough.
But amazingly not only did the freelance photographer take the picture himself using a timer delay, but his now-fiancee had no idea what he was planning.
Mr McLaren, 23, had persuaded her to hike for 40 minutes up Glen Lyon in Perthshire in -2C (28F) temperatures on the pretext of recreating a photo he had taken of them holding hands against a starry sky. Because it was the fifth anniversary of the day they met, Miss McGregor, 29, did not suspect his true motive.
But then he got down on one knee and produced a ruby and diamond ring he had secretly bought two months earlier from the jeweller’s shop where she works after she mentioned how much she liked it.
Mr McLaren said: ‘I’d taken a picture of us before, holding hands in front of the Milky Way. I told her I was going to try to do it again.’ After asking his girlfriend to stand next to a rock formation called the Praying Hands, he checked the camera before triggering a ten-second timer and dashing over to her.
The ring was an extra surprise as he and Miss McGregor’s boss had fabricated a story that it had been bought by someone. In fact, he had the ring resized to fit at the jeweller’s – and asked her parents’ permission to propose. Describing her reaction at seeing the ring, Miss McGregor said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when Connor shone a torch into the box. It was just so out of the blue.’
She said yes immediately but the couple, both from Perth, have yet to set a date.