Pastor James Ng decided to propose to his girlfriend Sonja Bostic, 27, in a romantic hot air balloon ride but when he went to grab the ring it tumbled 500 feet into the dense woodland below.

James, a 27-year-old pastor of New Mercies Community Church, had hidden the gold ring with nine diamonds in a box in his camera case as the couple drifted along. He waited for his big moment but when it arrived the case slipped from his hands.

James proposed anyway using a plastic tie twist.

Back on the ground and determined not to loose the ring he had saved for a year to afford, James started an extensive search over the wilderness. He miraculously found the ring a week later when thrashing through scrub and brambles with a machete.

“It’s perfect,” says bride-to-be Sonya. “It’s so beautiful I can’t stop starting at it.”

The couple’s wedding is set for June 11 2010.