A farmhand asked his girlfriend of nine years to marry him with a surprise proposal by spray painting the question on the side of a sheep.
Michael Osborne, 30, popped the question to Bryony Keale, 27, as the two were shearing sheep at the Isle of Man farm where they both work.
As they worked, Michael, of Peel on the Isle of Man, asked a friend to help spray ‘will you marry me?’ onto the side of a sheep.
He then pulled the sheep out of the pen and got down one on knee to asked a shocked Bryony to be his wife, at which point the animal bolted.
Bryony, who initially didn’t believe the proposal was genuine, said: “He pulled the sheep out from the pen with the question on it and I just remember saying: ‘Who wrote that?’
“I carried on going the opposite direction and Michael’s close friend chucked him the ring box, and I remember wondering if it was a joke.
“I was so shocked; I couldn’t believe it. I saw the sheep and I thought ‘absolutely not’ and then he let it go to get down on one knee, so we had to wrestle the sheep back so we could take some pictures.”
However, celebrations for the happy couple had to be put on pause, as they had to return to tending to the other sheep.
Once the last sheep was sheared that evening, family and friends marked their engagement with champagne.
Michael had planned to pop the question for three weeks and hired drones with photographers to capture the magical moment.
He said: “When I made my mind up to actually propose, there was only three days left of the shearing season, so time was against us.
“I knew that she wanted to be proposed to somewhere scenic and meaningful. The people we were shearing with were all very close friends, so it was the best time.
“Luckily the ring came in time for the penultimate day of shearing, but it was the place that I wanted it happen – on the hills.”
The loverbirds, who met during the island’s famous TT race, have said that they don’t want anything too traditional at their wedding after their unconventional proposal.
Michael added: “There will be a shearing theme to it, we’ll have a speed-shearing competition the night before.”
The sheep bearing the question was quickly returned to the flock but still has the paint sprayed onto its wool and has since become a star attraction in the area.
Bryony also said that sheep may even play a role in their wedding photos once they tie the knot.