'It was beautiful!': Surprise proposal for Wolverhampton university student after graduation ceremony
A paramedic student at the University of Wolverhampton had a "complete surprise" when her boyfriend got down on one knee after her graduation ceremony.
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It already promised to be an emotional day on Monday when Heather Bill went to The Halls in Wolverhampton to graduate from university, marking the end of four years of hard work studying paramedic science.
Still dressed in her cap and gown, she spotted a stall selling flowers after the ceremony and asked her boyfriend of two-and-a-half years, Alex Banks, if he could get her flowers to celebrate the end of her studies.
Heather picked out a single rose but Alex had different ideas and presented her with a big bunch of flowers – and it was all part of the plan.
The 24-year-old said: "We took some photos so I tossed my cap and went to pick it up and when I turned around he was on one knee.
"He did it outside St Peter's Church, it was beautiful, people were looking and clapping. It was a complete surprise, I didn't think he would do it."
Heather said she was in tears as her partner proposed and she said "yes"!
Alex, who works in the High Dependency Unit at West Midlands Ambulance Service, admitted he was "very nervous" to pop the big question.
The 25-year-old said: "I had been planning it for a little bit. My mother was kind enough to allow me to use her ring. I had to get it fixed up because unfortunately one of the diamonds had fallen out, so I got it cleaned up.
"Trying to hide it from [Heather] was difficult because she came with me to [get the ring fixed]. She was saying 'what is the ring for' so I said my mum just wanted to wear it. I was very nervous. It is not every day you do that."
The newly-engaged couple first met during the Covid pandemic, when paramedic students at the University of Wolverhampton were asked to help the ambulance effort.
Heather said: "We were crew mates for a bit and then we became friends. We pretty much hit it off straight away, we started talking more and more and then we ended up together."
The pair, who live together in Wolverhampton, celebrated their engagement by popping a bottle of fizz with family members whilst on holiday in Great Yarmouth.
Newly-graduated Heather said she now plans to spend some time to "focus on herself" before applying for jobs as a paramedic, with a goal of becoming a mental health paramedic.
