Waking up early one morning, I decided to "surprise" Emma with a card. Inside was a handwritten note asking if she would "go on a little journey with me" and a mysterious barcode.

The cover-story was we were going to fly to Wales. "It's a new route", I told her. No further questions were asked - despite Emma working for the airline in question at the time and not being aware of this new route.

Without the complete boarding pass and clutching her barcode we proceeded through security and made our way to the gate.

Above the gate read "Venice Marco Polo" and when Emma noticed this she began to cry. It looked as if I was kidnapping her! Or maybe she had guessed about the proposal.

We arrived in Venice and jumped onto a water taxi, which dropped us off near the hotel. We dragged our cases through the side streets and as we approached the hotel Emma realised it was the same hotel we stayed in when first visiting Venice together. Another nice surprise... which was only possible after painstakingly cross-referencing our photos from last time and using Google Maps to calculate which hotel it was (Emma booked the previous trip and I couldn't ask her!).

Then it started to rain. So, I enjoyed some Champagne and hit the mini bar.

We spent the next couple of days sight-seeing and then, on the last day, I suggested a gondola ride. To Emma's surprise, I opted for the "premium" service (not with a singer or musician on-board, but instead a ride down part of the Grand Canal).

As we approached the Rialto I asked Emma if she wanted to "go on a little journey with me" and under the Rialto I asked her to be my wife. She said “yes!” while the gondolier got excited and started taking pictures for us using my phone.

A nice meal at our favourite restaurant in Venice (which happens to overlook the Rialto too) rounded off the perfect proposal... possibly because I got a big beer.