Wakefield man pops the question in once-in-a-lifetime surprise proposal from the skies

Romantic Jamie Forde gave his girlfriend the ultimate surprise on a weekend trip to Scotland.
Romantic Jamie gave his girlfriend Anna the ultimate surprise on a weekend trip to Scotland.Romantic Jamie gave his girlfriend Anna the ultimate surprise on a weekend trip to Scotland.
Romantic Jamie gave his girlfriend Anna the ultimate surprise on a weekend trip to Scotland.

Aviation lover, Jamie, 26, booked a flight from Glasgow to Barra for himself and now fiance, Anna Pond, 25, on Saturday with the special surprise waiting for their arrival.

Jamie, a service engineer, said: "I'm a bit of an aviation geek and we both love Scotland so I thought I'd book flights for a little trip to Barra, which has the only beach landing - it's something that's been on my bucket list to do.

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"Then a couple of months ago, I sent a message to Loganair on Facebook, explaining what I wanted to do. Their reply was 'We'll sort it'.

The happy couple are hoping to be married within the next couple of years.The happy couple are hoping to be married within the next couple of years.
The happy couple are hoping to be married within the next couple of years.

And sort it they did!

Once their plane neared the beach, Jamie told Anna to look out of the window. It was then she saw the words 'Anna will you marry me? written in the sand.

“Initially she kind of just looked at me like a deer in headlights but once she realised what it was," Jamie said.

"She’s quite shy so went bright red. But the answer was yes!"

Jamie's proposal was written in the sand as they approached the beach.Jamie's proposal was written in the sand as they approached the beach.
Jamie's proposal was written in the sand as they approached the beach.
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Once they had landed, he was able to do the traditional proposal of getting down on one knee to ask Anna to marry him.

Jamie said it was all kept such a big secret, but it wasn't as hard as you'd probably expect.

"The whole proposal was dependent on the weather, but we were so lucky. We were able to fly and the weather the whole time we were away was sunny. We've even come home with sunburn!

"I had to let them know which side of the plane we were sat on on the morning of the flight, and had to speak with the pilot to see if they would do an extra fly over."

Aviation lover, Jamie, 26, booked a flight from Glasgow to Barra for himself and now fiance, Anna Pond on Saturday, with the special surprise waiting for their arrival.Aviation lover, Jamie, 26, booked a flight from Glasgow to Barra for himself and now fiance, Anna Pond on Saturday, with the special surprise waiting for their arrival.
Aviation lover, Jamie, 26, booked a flight from Glasgow to Barra for himself and now fiance, Anna Pond on Saturday, with the special surprise waiting for their arrival.
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Jamie said it was all thanks to Loganair and Barra Airport that the proposal was a success.

“I want to say a thank you to Loganair, Barra Airport and all the people of Barra. Everyone put so much effort into making it happen. They basically did everything! I'm mega proud!"

And the generosity of the island didn't stop there.

Jamie said: "The taxi from the airport wouldn't take any money from us and we were sent a homemade pizza that night with a bottle of champagne. Even the cafe gave us scones and cakes. Nobody would accept any money from us.

"Everyone was so generous. A guy called Michael Galbraich seemed to just sort everything out at the airport. He is so proud of his island and we're hoping to send something to them as a thank you for all they did."

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Jamie and Anna have been together for two-and-a-half years - but were neighbours in Crofton as children.

"I moved next door to Anna when I was 12 after moving from Brighouse to Wakefield. She was in the year below me at school so we didn't really hang out together.

"Then two-and-a-half years ago we started dating and have since bought a house in Crofton.

"We're hoping to be married in the next couple of years, we're just going to keep saving and hope we can set a date."