Earth moves for Hayley in surprise proposal

Jason Toth goes down on one knee to ask Hayley Ashmore to marry him. Photos / Michelle Hyslop

Window shopping had an unexpected sparkle for a Christchurch woman yesterday when her boyfriend used a store display to pop the question.

Hayley Ashmore, 24, and her boyfriend Jason Toth were in Auckland to escape the earthquakes and aftershocks in Christchurch.

But when she glanced in the window of the Diamond Shop in Queen St she spotted a sign "Hayley Ashmore Will You Marry Me?"

"I had to read it a few times before I realised it was my name," Hayley said.

"I turned and there was Jason down on one knee."

She said yes.

Jason had planned a romantic proposal in Europe, but was put off after he could not insure a diamond he bought through the store.

However, the store was happy to help with his surprise.

"It all went really smoothly. I wasn't nervous but I just wanted to get the right response," he said.

Jason said Hayley had been away from her family in England and had had a hard time dealing with the earthquakes and aftershocks.

The quakes had been tough on the whole family. Jason's parents' and grandparents' homes still needed to be rebuilt.