It was a day that started out as magically as anyone could imagine, but for Coffs Harbour woman Jessica Daniel, it didn’t take long for her birthday to go from delightfully memorable to horribly unforgettable.
Accompanied by her boyfriend Joshua, the 24-year-old began birthday celebrations by watching the sun rise over Digger’s Beach in Coffs Harbour.
Then, the pair took a romantic morning walk along the beach, and, as Jessica told news.com.au on Monday, “About half way along the beach Josh got down on one knee and asked me to his wife.”
The receptionist said having been together for seven years, she was "so excited" about the proposal.
“I was so excited all I could do was cry and say yes over and over.”
Then, with the rest of the day ahead of them, the newly engaged pair decided to go to the nearby iconic Big Banana.
“We had been there for a few hours," Jessica said, planning to go on one last ride inside the attraction when "plans changed quite fast."
Walking along a path, Jessica was suddenly bitten by a yellow-faced whip snake.
“It hurt so much," she said of the bites to her big toe, "like someone chopped my toe off."
Rushed to the hospital, hours of blood tests followed to ensure Jessica was safe and sound.
Thankfully, the bride-to-be was bandaged up and safe to leave within a few hours - just in time for sunset.