Calgarian Shawn Wright wanted to make his proposal to his fiancée as unforgettable as she is to him.
So, he decided to send her engagement ring into space. (As one does.)
But how do you send a ring into the great beyond — and get it back? You use a balloon.
The rig, pictured on the night before launch. (Photo: Shawn Wright/Facebook)
Wright tied the ring to a wooden spatula, which he fastened to a special, high-altitude weather balloon. He also attached a radio transmitter and GPS to track the ring, along with a GoPro to film the journey.
On Oct. 5, after hours of research to nail down the perfect flight plan, Wright and his father launched the ring into the sky.
They tracked the contraption for four hours until it landed on the edge of a pond in Taber, Alta. — 300 kilometres from the launch site.
It hadn't quite reached outer space, but it did hit the stratosphere more than 30 kilometres above the earth.
Popping the question
The proposal part came when Wright showed his fiancée, Maylynn Stephenson, a video of the ring's journey. (Watch above.)
"For the past few months I haven't really been working late, and I haven't been working weekends. I have been working on a secret project for you," Wright said in the clip. "I love you very much, and I really hope you think it's out of this world."
Shawn and Maylynn. (Photo: Shawn Wright/Facebook)
Stephenson was delighted, according to Wright, and said yes.
"Her mind was blown. She didn't know that I even had the real ring," the husband-to-be told The Huffington Post Alberta.
First proposal was months ago
But the out-of-this-world proposal wasn't even Wright's first — he actually asked Stephenson to marry him in Spain last year.
"I surprised her with a trip to Barcelona for our anniversary," Wright said, adding that he proposed on the beach after a day of skydiving. "It was incredible."
But the proposal was missing the real ring — Wright had just used a stand-in. Once the couple returned to Canada, Wright started putting money away for his fiancée's dream ring and planning a proposal that would be even more epic than the first.
"As soon as I started saving up for the real ring, I started thinking, 'What could I do?'" Wright said.
Safe to say, he took things to infinity — and beyond.
The couple, who've been been together for six years and have known each other for 20, will be married in Bali next year.
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