Bride dives in with 'yes' after beach proposal

Aimee Spicer and Vincent Schouppe got engaged on Boxing Day - with an inflatable ring.

Aimee Spicer had been waiting for an engagement ring for three years - but when she was finally given one, it wasn't what she expected.

The Brit had just swum in a race from Takapuna to Rangitoto on Boxing Day with her boyfriend, Vincent Schouppe, kayaking beside her.

But when she neared the beach on the island, she could see her Belgian boyfriend standing in the surf holding something.

"I almost swam past him because to be honest I was more concerned with finishing the swim."

But there he was, knee-deep in the water holding up a blue inflatable ring covered in pictures from their seven years together and the words: "Will you marry me?"

"I couldn't really believe it because I've been waiting for the past few years."

The last three years in fact, she said.

Spicer, 29, said yes and celebrated with her parents and brother, who had flown over from England to watch her swim.

Schouppe, 32, whisked her up to the summit, then the newly engaged couple went on a scenic flight over her swimming route.

"I couldn't believe it - he'd planned the whole thing," she said.

Spicer doesn't yet have an actual ring because she's "so fussy" and wants to make sure it's perfect, so is holding on to her inflatable one for the time being. "I don't still really believe it - he did it finally."

The pair met while working for a scuba diving company in Australia and are now living and working in New Zealand on a working holiday visa.

The couple are now on a road-trip around the country, enjoying their new romantic status and plan to have their wedding in New Zealand, Australia or Bali.

"We can't stop laughing about it - we feel like we're 15," Spicer laughed.