It was a real-life fairy tale of New York.
Romantic groom-to-be Rhead Hilton spent 18 months planning the perfect way to propose to his girlfriend Gemma Blemings, from County Durham.
And even after the couple booked a dream holiday to spend Thanksgiving in New York Gemma still had no idea what Rhead was up to.
But thankfully the 22-year-old had no hesitation in saying 'yes' when Rhead got down on one knee as the couple were ice-skating at New York's Rockefeller Center, on November 28.
Today, after sharing a video of the special moment online, a still stunned Gemma has told the Chronicle of her surprise and happiness.
The council customer service advisor, from Consett , said: "I didn't have a clue what he was planning. Even when he got down on one knee I thought he was taking the Mick. It hasn't sunk in yet. I keep watching the video and thinking; 'That isn't me'. I'm still getting over the shock."
And Rhead, 23, added: "It went even better than I had hoped."
Gemma and Rhead, got together four years ago, after meeting at university in Buxton, in Derbyshire.
The couple booked their Thanksgiving trip to the Big Apple more than a year ago.
And while Gemma was getting excited for the trip of a lifetime she had no idea Rhead, 23, had already decided he would propose on the trip.
But Rhead, from Staffordshire, had already begun cooking-up his dream proposal months earlier when he had a ring designed for Gemma.
After deciding he wanted to propose on the ice he even managed to fit in a couple of sneaky skating sessions to practise his moves on the rink.
And numerous conversations with ice-rink staff across the pond enabled him to arrange for the couple's favourite song to be played on the tannoy, and for someone to video their special moment.
He said: "I had been planning it for around 18 months. I knew before we booked the trip and I had already had the ring made. And I went ice-skating a couple of times just to practise.
"It was a nightmare trying to keep it secret. She usually knows everything.
"I was really nervous before but it went great, we couldn't have asked for a better engagement."
