BURTON, Ohio—A young Ohio pastor didn’t lose his nerve about asking his girlfriend to marry him—even after he accidentally dropped the diamond engagement ring overboard during their hot-air balloon ride.

James Ng (ENG) didn’t tell Sonya Bostic at first that he had dropped the camera case, with the ring inside, during their Oct. 29 outing. But he finally knelt on one knee and asked her to marry him.

She said “yes.” Their engagement, with a great conversation-starting story, began with a one-week hunt that finally turned up the case—and the ring—at West Branch State Park east of Akron.