“It was the most relaxed place to pop the question”: Busselton Jetty sets the scene for underwater proposal

Most divers will spend a lifetime underwater without finding treasure at the bottom of the ocean, but one couple found something just as precious. Beneath the waves of the Busselton Jetty Swan Dive owner Jesse Pesch staged what his now-wife Alanah Pesch said was “the perfect proposal”. Popping the question under the timber-piled jetty on New Year’s Day in 2025, the couple returned to the historic jetty just over a year later, on February 6, to celebrate their wedding — surrounded by family and friends. Mr Pesch said the jetty was iconic for the pair, being Busselton locals and often enjoying what it has to offer above and below the water. “Having Swan Dive at the jetty, taking tourists there daily makes it a special part of us,” he said. “We’ve spent many hours underwater together and both being ocean lovers, it was the perfect and most relaxed place to pop the question.” Mr Pesch said he knew he wanted to propose while diving. It was also underwater where he first told Alanah he loved her. “The first time I told her I loved her was on a deep dive in Vanuatu, where I wrote ‘I love you’ in the sand on a long decompression stop,” he said. Mrs Pesch said the jetty has long held a special place in the couple’s hearts. “It’s where we live and where we love so I think to have the proposal in such an iconic place is just absolutely beautiful,” she said. “The wedding was tied to the jetty as well, it’s where we had wedding photos taken and we had family and friends join us on the jetty train too. “The day was absolutely beautiful at Point Picquet, and while everyone else caught a bus back to Busselton for the reception at the Hilton, we took the boat and Jesse carried me out to the water in my wedding dress.” The couple are now planning a honeymoon, with the Maldives and of course, diving on the cards. “We’ll probably go somewhere we can relax on the beach,” Mrs Pesch said. “Maybe fit in a dive or a snorkel as well.”