For two years, the ferries between Vancouver Island and the mainland played a major role in Ashly Gait and Jaydon Boughen’s relationship – and it’s where they shared their biggest moment together so far!
In a story that has captured hearts across the province, Boughen proposed to his girlfriend on a BC Ferries vessel while it was going through Active Pass.
“I was completely shocked and didn’t see it coming at all. I can’t believe the time he put into making it the best surprise ever and the best day of my life,” Gait tells Victoria Buzz.
The two lovebirds met in May 2017 while they were both on a work trip for the same B.C.-based company in Iceland.
But Gait lived in Duncan and Boughen lived in Chilliwack, so for the next two years the couple spent almost every weekend taking the ferry to see each other.
“We basically lived on the ferries every other weekend for our 2 years of dating. Active Pass is half way through the boat ride, meaning halfway between the island and the mainland, where we both come from,” says Gait.
So on December 20th, after telling his girlfriend that he had won a pair of free ferry passes and a bridge tour at a chamber event, Boughen and Gait embarked on their trip.
“He said to dress nicely because when he went to the BC Ferries office to ‘pick up the prize’, the lady said we would take some photos up there… Thank goodness for that because I definitely would have been in sweats,” Gait jokes.
Once they were nearing Active Pass, the couple headed up to the bridge and, according to plan, the chief steward offered to take some photos of them in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
That’s when Boughen got down on one knee and popped the question:
It’s happily ever after for the now-famous pair, who plan to settle down in Victoria to start the next chapter of their lives.
Their special moment was shared on social media by BC Ferries, who say they were “honoured to have played a small part of this amazing milestone.”
Gait and Boughen are now busy planning a summer wedding at their favourite winery on Vancouver Island.
