A woman from Belfast has told of how a cheeky note with her phone number led to a marriage proposal from a mechanic who fixed her car - all within the space of two weeks.
The story begins on February 24, when Ashleigh Murray, 31, brought her car to a garage in Co Down for a routine check.
This is where she first met Scottish mechanic Donald Newell.
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Donald, 31, only moved to Northern Ireland from Saltcoats, Scotland, last year in a bid to be closer to his mother and sister.
"I had called in to get a light fixed and I heard him talking to one of his colleagues when I got out of the car. I've always loved the Scottish accent so that was a good start," Ashleigh said.
She did not hang around, and plucked up the courage to hand a note with her number on it to one of Donald’s colleagues to pass on.
"I almost chickened out of it and drove off. I have never done anything like this before in terms of putting myself out there but I thought, just do it!" she told Belfast Live.
Donald got in touch within two hours of receiving the note, and two days later, they went on their first date. The couple has been inseparable ever since.
He told Ashleigh he loved her on the first weekend of their relationship, and by the following week, Donald had moved into her flat in South Belfast. The pair even agreed to get married, all within two weeks of first meeting.
"He came to stay with me one night and never left!" Ashleigh added.
"He just went and got his stuff from his mum's house. It was probably me who mentioned marriage first when we were talking one night about having found the right person.
"We also got our names tattooed on each other three weeks after we met."
They have set a date to tie the knot for June of this year at Belfast City Hall, Belfast Live reports.
"It'll just be immediate family - I've got my dress and everything already. We had wanted to marry this month but the nearest date they had was June."
The couple also hope to buy a house together and start a family as soon as possible.
Their families are on board with it, after seeing how committed they are to each other.
"I think our families thought we were a bit mad at first," Ashleigh admitted.
"I told my mum the week before I met Donald that I wasn't planning to date or get married. Then the week after that I was phoning to tell her I had met someone, he was moving in and we were getting married.
"She went silent and then said 'really?' Thankfully they all really like Donald and can see how committed we are to each other."
Donald knew he loved Ashleigh almost immediately, despite thinking his colleagues were having a laugh when he was first handed the note.
"When we went out on our first date we had a connection right away as all we did was laugh," he added.
"At no time did I think it was moving too fast - it just felt right and I have found my soul mate."
Ashleigh adds: "We're both 31 now and at the stage that we don't want to hang about. We’re so in love with each other and I don’t really care what people think.
"When you meet the person you know you’re meant to be with and they fit seamlessly into your life, you just know."
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