Impromptu proposal stuns Winchester theatre crowd (From This is Hampshire)
When news happens, text SDE and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
Impromptu proposal stuns Winchester theatre crowd
10:00am Tuesday 16th October 2012 in News
David Hopkins and Stacy Watkins celebrate their engagement after he proposed during a comedy gala at Winchester Theatre Royal
IT’S supposed to be the most romantic moment of your life.
So deciding the right time to pop the question was proving a little difficult for loved-up David Hopkins.
Having bought an engagement ring a month before, he had twice tried to propose to girlfriend Stacy Watkins. But each time the vital moment just didn’t seem right and he got cold feet – even on her birthday.
But when comedian Tom Price spontaneously picked on the couple at a comedy gala and joked about how they had been together for eight years without tying the knot, David was left with no choice.
He got down on one knee in front of hundreds of people at the Theatre Royal, Winchester and produced the diamond ring.
Stacy said: “I was a bit shocked. He’s normally quite a quiet person and not the type to want to draw attention to himself.”
David, who had taken Stacy to the theatre for their anniversary, said: “She kind of laughed and cried. What was kind of strange was there was a lot of emotion, and then we had to keep watching the show.
“All the other times I thought about doing it it felt like it would have been an anti-climax.
“It was one of those things that was a bit of a blur. Then the crowd went a bit crazy for a minute.
“In a way it’s a bit of a weight off. We’ve been together so long, we’re kind of best friends really.”
Emma Stafford, press and marketing officer at the Theatre Royal, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that the proposal took place in our lovely theatre. The theatre is really fitting for it, it’s such a romantic venue.”
David, 30, a social worker for Southampton City Council, has been with Stacy, 28, a drama and media teacher at Andover College, since they met in 2004 while studying at the University of Plymouth.
The love-struck couple are thinking about getting married in the summer of 2014, giving them lots of time to plan something special enough to top the proposal.
