A surprise on stage marriage proposal stunned the co-host of CableVision’s ‘Salute to Service’ Awards, and the audience, on Saturday.

Michael Jones went down on both knees on stage to propose wedded bliss to Danilee Trott who was presenting some of the awards.

The annual banquet, at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel, honours outstanding women in the community.

“I was stunned, shocked and amazed,” said Miss Trott, who is event project manager at the Corporation of Hamilton.

“I had been sick a day or two before and I was just focused on feeling better and getting over my nerves during the banquet.”

The evening’s awards programme took a detour as a speech by Premier Crag Cannonier’s wife, Antoinette, was delayed by organisers and Miss Trott was asked to come on stage earlier than had been planned.

She was directed to stand to the side while two young people, Micah O’Brien and Aliana King, sang a duet.

“They were singing Gravity by Sara Bareilles,” she said. “The song includes the line ‘something always brings me back to you’,” Miss Trott said. “The audience didn’t notice anything but that was our song.”

As they sang, she looked over at her table where her boyfriend had been sitting a minute before.

“I just wanted to catch his eye to see if he noticed,” she said, “but he wasn’t there. I thought he’d stepped out for a moment.”

Secretly Mr Jones, CableVision plant manager, had crept up to the front of the room. When the duet finished, he appeared on stage and began to make a speech of his own.

As part of his proposal he said: “A person should make you better, and Danilee every day that I am with you, I am a little bit better.”

A tearful Miss Trott said: “Yes!”

Mr Jones later told The Royal Gazette: “A few of the organisers knew that I was going to propose but we tried to keep the information to as few people as possible because I really wanted it to be a surprise.”

Mrs Cannonier did eventually get to make her speech.

The happy couple met at a party given by Miss Trott. Mr Jones came as the invited guest of a friend. Later they started dating. Mr Jones decided to propose when they went on a cruise together in November.

“We were between New York and Puerto Rico,” he said. “There was a man selling rings.”

One of the rings was an engagement and wedding ring combo called the Million Dollar Ring.

“I put it on her finger and I said, ‘I should get this now’,” said Mr Jones. “She said, ‘now’ and nearly fainted. I said ‘I’m just kidding’.”

Later he went back and bought the ring.

“Then I was in a panic trying to figure out how to hide the ring from her,” he said.

In the end he hid it so well that Miss Trott actually carried the ring back to Bermuda herself without realising it.

It will be the second marriage for Miss Trott, 38, and the third for Mr Jones, 54.

Miss Trott has two children and Mr Jones has four.

They haven’t set a date for the wedding but are looking at some time in October for their big day.