Internet helps couple hunt down woman who captured their proposal

LONDON -- A British couple used the power of social media to track down a stranger who photographed the moment they got engaged in Iceland.

Michael Kent proposed to his girlfriend Fiona Newlands on the snowy streets of Reykjavík last Saturday. A passing stranger happened to capture the moment on her camera, but after exchanging contact details with her, Kent feared he'd given the wrong email address.

In an attempt to find the photographer, Kent took to Facebook to share his story.

Here's Kent's post in full:

"Dear Internet. Last night I proposed to Fiona Newlands in Iceland. A random woman took our picture as it happened (we didn't know she was there). In the aftermath I didn't take the ladies contact details and I'm worried I gave her the wrong email. If we could find that picture it'd be incredible. Below is the scene of the crime. If we can't find it, that's life I guess, I'm still very lucky."

85 shares later and 200 likes later, though, and -- despite receiving plenty of congratulatory messages -- Kent was no closer to identifying the stranger.

He decided to change tactics and turned to Twitter, sharing his story with Icelandic magazine The Reykjavík Grapevine to see if they could help.

. @visitreykjavik @reykjavik @rvkgrapevine @IheartReykjavik hi guys. Hope you might be able to help. #Reykjavik pic.twitter.com/Tocqy3Im91— Mike Kent - Dexerto (@DexertoMike) November 28, 2015

Finally, after they'd retweeted him, he got his first positive lead.

@Bobcluness @visitreykjavik @reykjavik @rvkgrapevine @IheartReykjavik @JessicaRBowe oh my god thank you so much.— Mike Kent - Dexerto (@DexertoMike) November 28, 2015

It turned out the stranger Kent and his fiancee had encountered was Reykjavík-based photographer Jessica Bowe, whose picture had blown up in Iceland after she shared it on her Instagram page.

So, this was a special night. I was leaving Bravó after a few happy Friday beers and snapping some pics of the lovely falling snow, with Hallgrímskirkja church in view up Skólavörðustígur, on my usual way home when this couple got engaged on the spot. I gave them a moment and then asked if they would like to have this picture as a memento. The man's hands were trembling as he entered his email address on my phone, and I got some nice hugs of appreciation. Sometimes you're just in the right place at the right time. #reykjavik #iceland #magicmoments #luckyshot #hallgrimskirkja #winter #snowfall #arcticromance #love #proposal #happyaccidents #reykjavikloves #nordicvisitor #gvpics #ig_iceland A photo posted by JR Bowe (@jrbowe) on Nov 27, 2015 at 4:35pm PST

"I can't believe what's happened," Kent wrote on Facebook later that night. "The woman who took the picture of me proposing to Fiona in the street, posted it online after I put my email in wrong on the night. Through me posting on Twitter we were reunited with the photo.

"I can't believe it. I fucking love the internet."

In the days since they re-discovered the picture, Kent and Newlands have been back to Iceland to meet up with Bowe.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

They've even done an interview with Icelandic TV show Kastljós to talk about their story.

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));Mynd af trúlofun þeirra Michaels og Fionu á Skólavörðustíg hefur farið eins og eldur í sinu um netheima. Við hittum þau í dag og í Kastljósi í kvöld segja þau frá trúlofuninni, hring sem var falinn í skó og hvað í ósköpunum þau eru að gera á Íslandi í lok nóvember. Við hittum líka Jessicu sem tók myndina en hún segist trúa á sanna ást.Posted by Kastljós on Monday, November 30, 2015

The Internet can be pretty damn awesome sometimes.