Photographer secretly captures couple's romantic proposal - then tracks them down to give them the pictures

The power of social media prevailed to connect the couple with the photographer

Photographer Gary Clark used Facebook to give Nicholas Luker and Rebecca Ayling their engagement photos (SWNS)

A photographer who secretly captured the moment a couple became engaged managed to track them down later using Facebook.

When 53-year-old nature photographer Gary Clark ventured out one day to take some photos of some pretty bluebells in the woods, he wasn’t expecting to stumble across a romantic proposal.

Nicholas Luker had chosen a scenic woodland area in Cleeve, Somerset to propose to his girlfriend, Rebecca Ayling, unbeknownst that Clark would be there at the exact moment that he went down on one knee.

30-year-old Luker had arranged for friends to help him set up the intimate scene, having them hang bunting and photos of the couple in between trees.

The bunting read “Will you marry me Rebecca Jane Ayling?” and the photos displayed holiday snaps of the couple, who met while both working as teachers in the same secondary school.

Luker also created an adventure book inspired by the Pixar film Up, which detailed the travels that he and Ayling had enjoyed together throughout their relationship.

Prior to the proposal, Luker had pretended that he wanted to take Ayling for a walk through the woods before meeting his parents for lunch.

Gary Clark secretly captured Nicholas Luker proposing to his girlfriend Rebecca Ayling (Nicholas Luker / SWNS.com)

“I had an idea that something might be up that morning, because Nick was acting oddly,” Ayling said. “I think he was very nervous.”

The second Ayling saw the bunting she immediately said yes, before Luker had even had a chance to go down on one knee.

Clark was luckily able to take candid photos of the proposal that the couple could treasure forever.

However, he decided that he’d rather not interrupt the special moment at the time, choosing instead to find the couple later on using social media.

“You can only see the bluebells a couple of weeks a year,” said Clark, explaining why he’d been in the same spot that Luker had selected seven months previously for the proposal.

“It just looked so romantic, I thought I’d try and get a shot but they looked to be enjoying themselves so much I didn’t want to disturb them.”

Clark shared one of the photos on Facebook in an attempt to seek them out, an endeavour that proved successful.

Nicholas Luker and Rebecca Ayling met while both working as teachers at the same secondary school (Nicholas Luker / SWNS.com)

“I was just trying to get a special photo to the couple,” he said.

“I thought I’d see what I could do with the power of Facebook. I am really pleased that they were happy.”

Ayling expressed her gratitude towards Clark, saying: "Gary sent us the pictures, it's lovely that it was preserved forever."

Luker and Ayling are planning on marrying in July 2019.