It was a sunny Victoria day in September of 2011. It’s safe to say that this day started out far from perfect, in fact - that’s an understatement. Justin was visiting from Kelowna with a few of his closest friends, and through these friends, he was introduced to a girl by the name of Trisha. The collective group were all recovering from their evening before, and they arranged to float down the Cowichan River and soak up some sun. Justin obviously needed the tan. In the typical Kelowna-crew fashion, the boys came wildly unprepared for the journey ahead, and the entry spot happened to be the lone set of rapids on the river - brilliant right? This resulted in Justin & Luke’s floatation device (which was a cheap air mattress) popping instantly. After frantically flailing in knee-deep water to try and catch up to the group, little did Justin know that this seemingly misfortunate incident was a blessing in disguise. It allowed Justin and Trisha to get to know each other while he sat with one butt-cheek off the largest floaty that was made for 3, but now seating 5. He held onto her small donut tube with his feet, as there was no rope tying the group together - again, wildly unprepared. Long story short, it was the day 2 kids fell in love, and nearly 8 years later, here we are. If anyone would like to join us in a significantly more prepared recreation of that days events, please inquire about joining us as we take on the Cowichan River again on August 22nd.

It was the morning of Justin’s 28th birthday. After months of plotting, it was time for him to pull the hidden ring box out of the leg of that dusty pair of jeans in the bottom of the drawer. They arranged for a little weekend getaway at Harrison Hot Springs to celebrate the 2nd last year of his 20’s, but this trip wasn’t for him. There were a lot of elements in play for Justin to pull off the perfect proposal, and time wasn’t on his side. As it was a Friday, Trisha had to complete a Teaching activity in the area; this event took place outdoors in the pouring rain and this certainly didn’t help the situation. Justin had arranged for a photographer to hide behind some trees and capture the proposal live - this meant ensuring coordination with the photographer without Trisha knowing, planting props at the proposal spot, accounting for time as it related to outdoor lighting, and the natural time it takes women to get ready for a romantic night out....yes, safe to say it was a stressful afternoon. Everything was in place, and it was almost time for the main event. Trisha stepped out of the shower, and Justin proceeded to ask “alright babe, can you be ready in 15 minutes?”. Understandably, she looked at him with an exasperated glare and replied with “are you kidding?”. Time was of the essence lady, come on!

After a mascara-in-the-hair incident Justin caused, and a flurry of nerves seeping through every fragment of his body, it was time. As if it was meant to be, it had just stopped raining. He walked his lady down a rock path surrounded by beautiful trees and greenery to a little spot right on the edge of Harrison Lake. At that spot was 2 copper cups, and a bottle of wine. Not just any bottle of wine however, it was the bottle they had decided many years ago that they would open on their engagement night. Once she laid her eyes on what appeared to be any old bottle of red wine, and heard the rapid “snapping” of a camera in the background, she still couldn’t fathom what was really happening. It was only when Justin said something along the lines of “You’ve made this day so special, but there’s just one more thing I want for my birthday”. Justin then dropped down to one knee, pulled out a little blue box, popped it open, and asked the love of his life to marry him. To this day, neither of them know what was said while Justin was on his knee proposing, as they both completely blacked out during that moment. In fact, we don’t actually know if she even said yes, but it’s the only time Trisha claims “she’s ever seen Justin nervous”.