12 of the most unusual proposals Dorset has ever seen

A proposal on a plate

Imagine walking down the street when you see a plate asking for your hand in marriage displayed in a shop window. That's what happened to Sue last month.

A picture paints 1,000 words

Cath Jenkin popped the question to Anthony, her partner of 10 years, on Weymouth seafront - in the form of a picture painted by local artist Mike Taylor. They wandered past the painting only for Anthony to discover it was of him and Cath - with a speech bubble saying "Will you marry me".

The Bing sponsored Flashmob

Andrew entered a competition with the Microsoft search engine, who helped him put together this flashmob proposal in Bournemouth Square.

Oh no he didn't...

Oh yes he did - Poole dad Damian Bennett persauded star Ray Quinn to call a halt to pantomime Aladdin so he could ask his girlfriend to marry him. Kayleigh, 25, said: “Once I saw him on stage I thought ‘Oh my goodness I know what’s coming’ and my heart started pounding.”

The proposal of his dreams

Marc Bennett dreamt that he'd proposed to his girlfriend dressed as Spiderman with the help of a marching band, also dressed as Spiderman. So when he woke up, he decided to organise it for real.

The one with the gospel choir that took three months to arrange

Busker Jimmy used Facebook to arrange his Picadilly Circus proposal to girlfriend Josie. She said: "Jimmy started singing ‘Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher’ and people around us started joining in. I thought they were just tourists at first but then more and more gathered and I spotted three of our friends in the crowd."

At the end of the pier

Swanage Pier's plaques have been the setting for more than one proposal.  Fourteen years ago romantic Californian Tom proposed to his figure skater girlfriend China in the rain via a plaque. Then two years ago Russ Tarry did the same for his girlfriend Laura. 

Another brick in the wall

Mark Gibson-Cook commissioned a commemorative brick at Hengistbury Head engraved with the inscription ‘Will you marry me? Mark & Katie 2014’ as a way of popping the question to girlfriend Katie Spencer. She said yes.

The one where she didn't notice

Sailor Max Walker asked his girlfriend Rebecca to marry him with with a giant message on the sail of his yacht as they competed in the JPMorgan Asset Management Round-The-Island Race. But Rebecca was too busy actually sailing to notice straightaway.

The big screen moment that proved it was Love, Actually

Tom Lane made a film of himself holding up a string of cards, a la Love Actually, to propose to his girlfriend Tina - and persuaded Cineworld staff to show it before the real film started. She said: "His final card said, 'I'm right behind you.' I turned round and he was walking down the steps from the back of the cinema and got down on one knee and brought a ring out of his pocket."

The one with added, unexpected KT Tunstall

Adam Lindeman and Hang Nguyen got engaged on Bournemouth Pier in 2013, yards from where singer KT Tunstall was doing a phone interview. She stopped the interview so she could rush over and offer them congratulatory tickets to that night's show -  but they had no idea who she was and didn't show.

And finally... the one that proves you don't need a fancy way to ask

George and Peggy met in the 1940s. She thought he was arrogant, he thought she was childish. She went to the pictures with him anyway, and love bloomed. But his proposal was typically relaxed. 

Peggy said: “He bought a suite of furniture and he had nowhere to put it, as he was living above the shop at the time. I was living in rooms, and there was nowhere to store this furniture, so he said to me, ‘You had better marry me then.’”

They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in 2013.