Determination
Edi Okoro, a retired athelete from Hereford, UK, decided to propose to his girlfriend of ten years in a very peculiar way. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with his girlfriend Cally Read and wanted to make it as special as possible.
He then devised the perfect plan: he would secretly propose to her every day for a whole month and take pictures of it without her noticing, and then he would have an amazing collection of photos to surprise her with when he finally proposed to her directly.
Thinking Outside The Box
He knew that Cally would realize something was up, so he had to be spontaneous and unconventional. "I made it even more of a challenge because Cally knows this, and the moment I planned a holiday or meal she would have clocked on to what I was about to do,” he said.
“I took the ring with me everywhere hoping the ‘moment’ would arise in line with my spontaneous style," he admitted. Then, he came up with his brilliant idea and started taking pictures of himself with the ring without Cally noticing.
The 'A-Ha!' Moment
Edi spent so much time with the ring that he started feeling emotionally attached to it: “After a month or so of waiting for the right moment, I was sitting on the sofa admiring ‘my precious,’ Cally almost caught me staring at the ring, and it hit me!”
“All these missed opportunities mixed in with the thought – Cally doesn’t know I have the ring! I should just start documenting these moments!” he said, and that's how his clever idea was born.
Being Spontaneous
Once he came up with the idea, he said that “ it escalated quickly into trying to get as many photos of Cally with the ring without her knowing! Yes, she had no idea what I was doing in these photos!”
“The idea was to take as many photos, in more daring scenarios, until I found the perfect moment to propose, or until I got caught, at which point I would propose.” Surprisingly, he didn't get caught and Cally did not suspect anything.
Taking Every Opportunity
Edi would take every single opportunity to take his secretive pictures and kept pushing his luck. How did Cally not realize she had something on her?
Every time he didn't get caught, Edi got cockier. However, even if he got caught, it would have been OK, because he was ready to actually propose to her if she saw him.
Out In The Open
Although he initially carried out his plan at home, he began getting bolder and doing it outside in front of other people. Luckily, nobody said anything or else they would've ruined it all.
This time, however, he took it really far and was still not caught! This takes a level of skill and sneakiness that only a few people have.
Upping His Game
If you thought the previous picture was risky, take a look at this one. Edi made a bold move when he actually placed the engagement ring on Cally's hand as she was sleeping and managed to take a picture of it without waking her up.
This is one of the best tricks Edi pulled in his quest to secretly propose to his girlfriend. How could he top this? Well, let's find out...
Getting Creative
After putting the ring on Cally's hand as she was sleeping, Edi got even more confident in his sneaking skills. He now placed the ring in Cally's jewelry dish on her desk, out in the open for her to see.
However, sometimes something is so obvious and out there that we just ignore it and can't really see it, which is why Cally probably didn't realize the ring was there at all.
Getting Away With It
Edi decided to up his game once more and start recording videos on top of the pictures. Here, he recorded himself with the ring as Cally was obliviously brushing her teeth.
He then turns the camera to him and quietly celebrates getting away with it while Cally is still brushing her teeth, not even realizing her boyfriend is in the room. It's very clear Edi can barely contain his excitement.
Right In Her Face
Once more, Edi decides to get on with his plan as Cally is innocently sleeping. He recorded himself holding the ring right in front of her as she peacefully sleeps.
Not only that, but Edi takes it once step further and starts talking to her as he is recording the video and holding the ring in his hand. Still, Cally does not wake up!
Taking The Ring Everywhere
Edi was not lying when he said he took the ring with him wherever he went. As you can see, he had it with him as he dropped Cally off with his car and secretly proposed to her as she was getting her bike ready.
If Cally had turned around for just a second, she would've caught him. Edi pushed his luck more and more and kept getting away with it in such a simple, effortless way.
Almost Caught
This was the first moment when Edi was almost caught. He chose to pull out the ring in the middle of a busy bike store, with everyone watching. If anyone had said anything or turned Cally's attention towards Edi, he would've had to propose right then and there at a bike shop.
It wouldn't have been the most romantic place, but it would have certainly been a good story to tell the grandchildren. Also, imagine how shocked everyone at the store would have been after witnessing such a random proposal!
Another One!
Edi was obviously feeling himself that day, because he didn't just take one picture. He bravely turned around, put his camera on selfie mode, and took this adorable selfie of himself with the ring and Cally in the background.
He managed to do all of this very quickly and hide the ring right before Cally was done shopping. He better have counted his blessings for not getting caught after taking such a huge risk!
Taking The Ring On A Trip
Edi even took the ring with him while he and Cally were on vacation. She didn't find the ring in their luggage nor did she notice the ring box in Edi's pocket the whole time they were there.
Lucky for Edie, Cally spends a lot of time on her phone, disconnecting from reality. How did she not realize that something was going on here? She was clearly too much into whatever she was looking at.
Getting Lost
If Edi would've been caught during their trip, it would have been a nice place to propose, right? Well, he didn't, because he was way too good as being sneaky!
As you can see, when Edi and Cally got lost during their vacation, Edi found the perfect opportunity to snap one of his signature selfies. Cally was completely oblivious once more.
The Perfect Moment That Never Was
This moment would have also been pretty romantic if Cally had just turned around for a second. It was just the two of them hanging out at this beautiful beach on a bright sunny day... but nope, nothing.
At this point, Edi was so obvious that he was asking to get caught. We can imagine that he was pushing the limits and hoping that Cally would finally see it, but that did not happen.
Sunbathing
But their day at the beach was not over and thus, Edi had plenty more opportunities to carry out his genius plan. As Cally was sunbathing and enjoying the soft sound of the waves crashing on the beach, Edi took another picture.
She could've just opened her eyes for a brief moment and caught him in the act, but she was so relaxed that she didn't notice anything that was going on.
Right In Front Of Her
Once they were back home, Edi came up with even more risky ways to secretly propose to his girlfriend. This time, he took a picture of the ring as Cally was carrying her bike up the stairs.
Although it may seem very obvious that something is going on, it is understandable that Cally didn't see it. After all, she was busy carrying her heavy bike up a flight of stairs, which is no easy task.
Getting Close
After a few weeks of getting away with it, Edi's plan was about to come to an end. He was feeling extremely confident at this point and didn't think for a second that Cally would catch him.
Little did he know that Cally would finally realize what was going on. It all started when Edi decided to snap a photo while wearing the ring on his own finger and waving it around as Cally was getting something out of the fridge...
She Caught Him!
But then... she turned around and saw him. She didn't understand it at first and asked him what was going on, to which Edi responded by getting down on one knee and finally proposing to her.
Cally immediately said yes and he two celebrated their engagement by uploading a picture to Facebook for all their loved ones to see. However, Edi hadn't told her about what he had been doing for the last few weeks yet...
The Big Reveal
Edi thought it would be a good idea to make a slideshow of all the pictures he took over the last few weeks and invite both of their families over to see it. Nobody knew what it was about, and Edi managed to keep his cool the whole time.
Once everyone was there, he proceeded to explain his genius plan to everybody by saying: “Basically I had no idea how I was gonna propose to Cal. I was like what am I gonna do – maybe I could take pictures to document the whole experience?”
A Big Celebration
Once Edi began his slideshow, everyone started gasping in surprise. Of course, the most surprised person in the room was Cally, who had never thought in a million years that her fiancée would do something so incredible.
Everyone in their families cheered and celebrated the engagement of Edi and Cally, and nobody could believe how Edi managed to get away with it for so long. Then, he proceeded to explain how he was caught and everybody laughed.
How They Met
But the slideshow wasn't over. Edi also included a brief history of their relationship and photos from when they had just started dating. For example, these are them at 18 and 20 years old when they were just getting to know each other.
The two are almost unrecognizable and you can tell that they've spent a huge chunk of their lives together, growing up into adulthood side by side. It was clear they were meant to be.
They've Come So Far!
These two really grew up together, didn't they? The happy couple took a picture of themselves in the same pose as an old picture of them from when they just started dating, and it's so sweet to see how far they've come.
Who would've thought that those two teenagers would now be living in their own apartment and going viral over their sweet and funny engagement story?
Laughing At Themselves
After going viral, Edi took to social media to make fun of their amazing story by posting this picture with the caption: “Cally, Specsavers must have heard about our proposal story and sent this in the post #ShouldHaveWentToSpecsavers.”
It is clear that something must be wrong with Cally's eyesight, otherwise she would've noticed something was up. Hopefully, a pair of glasses will help her out with her problem!
Traveling
The young couple have created a Facebook page for themselves after going viral and post regular updates of their lives. The two are still engaged and recently traveled to Italy together, as you can see in the picture.
Posting the image on Facebook, Cally celebrated that their weekend had finally started and that she and Edi were in fact, exploring for their wedding. What exactly they were shopping in Italy for remains to be seen, whether it’s for a honeymoon or for the actual wedding itself.
No Rush
Although they were engaged, they didn't feel pressured to rush towards marriage just yet. The two traveled to Italy and enjoyed life as an engaged couple before they started planning for the big day.
They later traveled to Switzerland, Hungary, Spain, France, and Wales, all in the span of two years. After that, the wedding planning began.
Mama Read Approves!
But they didn't travel alone. Cally's mom joined them on the trip and Edi absolutely loved it. It's great that Edi has a good relationship with Cally's mother, as it says a lot about his character.
Needless to say, her mom totally approves of the engagement and is now helping the soon-to-be-weds with all the wedding planning.
Helping Each Other
Although they thought they could handle all the wedding plans after their amazing trip through Europe, reality really sank in when they came back. They were exhausted and could not concentrate on anything.
Edi took to social media and said: “When the holiday blues start setting in… not for me tho I don’t get blues.”
Almost There
Unfortunately, 2020 was a tough year for everybody, and due to the current circumstances of the world, Edie and Cally haven't been able to have the wedding of their dreams.
They're not feeling down, however, and are patiently waiting for the day they can have the wedding of their dreams. Meanwhile, they adopted a dog, who's hopefully going to help them with all the wedding planning.