A couple accidentally proposed to each other at the same time while on a romantic snowy getaway – with matching rings. Bee Nichols, 29, defied tradition to get down on one knee in front of James Kavanagh, 28, while on a dog sledding holiday in Riga, Latvia.
Little did she know James was about to propose – and responded by getting down on one knee. Bee had already picked her engagement ring while antique shopping in London.
She ordered one for James to match hers, days before the holiday. The pair were also coincidentally wearing near-identical outfits.
Bee and James went to the same primary school and were in the same running club and choir. They re-connected when they both moved home to Leverstock Green, Hemel Hempstead, Hampshire, during the pandemic.
They became good friends and started running together, and when restrictions lifted romance blossomed between the pair who made it official in January 2021. Bee, a plant scientist, said: “It was such a romantic weekend.
"I booked for us to go dog sledding which was really beautiful. We went for a walk through the forest where it was snowy, wintery and lovely.
“We went up an observation tower and James had gone quiet. I thought they knew I was going to propose but it turned out they wanted to.”
James, who uses the pronouns they/them added: “I didn’t have an exact plan but I’d spoken to Bee’s friends about a plan I had. I originally was going to do it on a natural history tour but then mentioned the holiday - they said to definitely do it on holiday.
“I had the ring on me and I was waiting for the right moment to propose. When we got to the observation tower I thought this moment is really perfect.”
Bee said as she went up the steps she thought about backing out because she was nervous about people close by. James, a PHD student, added: “I am a very easy crier, it was overwhelming, and it was like all my emotions were trying to get through one door at once.
“It was really wonderful. I kind of figured she must have been proposing as it had been orchestrated to be so perfect.
“I was really unsure, she took so long and I started dropping little hints to try and prompt her." James then returned the favour and proposed to Bee as they had planned.
Bee said: “James didn’t want to steal the moment. Accidentally saying no to a proposal has been a fear of mine since I was little.
“It’s nice for someone to say yes to your proposal but it’s even nicer when they propose to you too. I was overwhelmed, it felt like we were so in sync."
A nearby wildlife photographer snapped the moment for the couple to cherish. The couple lived together for a year but have been long distance while James completes his PHD in paediatric infectious diseases at Imperial College London and Bee lives in Norwich.
Bee had already picked her engagement ring with a peridot stone whilst antique shopping in London in October 2022 but she didn’t know when James was going to propose. Bee bought James’ ring just days before the holiday.
She said: “I must have looked at 500 rings until I found the perfect one on Etsy. James has a peridot too and it has a twisted edge that matches my band.
“The proposal just shows we’re so in sync. People always say we’re like the same person.”
