A WOMAN had a brush with romance on Weymouth seafront when she asked an artist to add some colour to her marriage proposal.
Cath Jenkin asked local artist Mike Taylor to paint a picture of her popping the question to her partner Anthony Byrne on the promenade.
Watercolour artist Mike Taylor sat in wait for the loved-up pair by the Jubilee Clock.
They strolled past Mike’s easel to have a look at his painting when Anthony got the surprise of his life.
The ‘Cath’ figure in the painting has a speech bubble saying: “Ant, will you marry me?”
Nurse Cath, 39, had been planning to propose for months and selected the romantic setting of Weymouth seafront while the pair, from Cardiff, enjoyed a holiday in the resort.
Anthony, 37, didn’t hesitate before saying ‘yes’ and the newly-betrothed pair celebrated with champagne.
Unsuspecting Anthony had no idea what had been planned.
Cath said: “I wanted something to knock Anthony’s socks off with a really big surprise, something he’ll never forget.
“I’d been trying to come up with ideas for months and months and I thought: ‘Weymouth would be the perfect romantic setting for it.’ “Then I spoke to Mike and he made it all happen, it was absolutely perfect, just what I wanted.”
The couple, who have two daughters, Jasmine, aged three, and Amelie, aged 18 months, have been together for more than nine years.
Sales rep Anthony said: “I had absolutely no idea, the only thing I was wondering about was when Cath told me I had to shave this morning but really, I never had an inkling.
“It’s such a great way to start the holiday.
“We came to Weymouth a few years ago on holiday but now we have a great excuse to keep coming back.
“It’s a day I will never forget.
“Weymouth will always be special to us now.”
He added: “We’ve been together almost ten years but just never got around to marrying with the kids and everything we’ve been so busy.”
Cath said: “He’s so wonderful and I wanted to surprise him because he’s worth it.
“We’ll definitely be framing the picture. I’ve been thinking about where we’ll hang it already.
“I have been so excited that I have had to keep putting it out of my head otherwise I would have been jumping up and down for joy.”
Mike said: “Cath phoned me up because she was trying to put it together and was having no luck at all. I was a bit reluctant at first.
“I’ve never done anything like this before but she was so nice I decided I would.
“This is a one-off thing – it’s really unusual and it’s really lovely to see how happy they are.”
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