On their one year anniversary of dating, Terry gave his girlfriend Anna a necklace. A special necklace. A handmade spiral shell of Huon Pine (unique to Tasmania), with an enclosed secret: an engagement ring!
“I had always loved the idea of giving someone a gift where they didn’t know its true value until years later,” says Terry of his covert necklace, which he got to work on as soon as he found the ring. “She wore it every day and everywhere we went, and pretty much never took it off,” Terry said.
Terry’s biggest concern in maintaining the surprise came when the adventurous traveling couple went through airport security for the first time. “I hadn’t thought about the fact that she might be asked to put it through the X-ray, which could have very quickly turned into an airport security proposal!” he said.
A year-and-a-half after the necklace was given, the couple traveled to Smoo Cave in northern Scotland, a destination they’d always talked about visiting. This would be the location for Terry’s ultimate surprise.
“Before we actually went down to the cave, I asked if I could have the necklace to take some photos of it among the rocks, which gave me a quick chance to break the seal with a knife,” said Terry.
After a self-timed photo at the cave, Terry pulled the necklace back out, knelt in front of Anna, and broke it open to reveal the ring, to which the (now) bride-to-be enthusiastically said yes!
After the proposal sunk in, Anna exclaimed: “Wait…it’s been in there the entire time?!! I could have lost it you f— idiot!!”, which Terry described as “quite a hilarious mix of happy and angry.”