My Proposal

Some of you have expressed interest in knowing more about the day of my proposal, so I’m sharing the story here. :) For those who don’t know, I just got engaged on June 25, 2013. Announcement here: I’m Engaged!!

(If you’re not interested in hearing the story, just skip this post; I will continue writing the usual self-help articles after this. This proposal is a happy event in my life and I simply want to share the joy with all of you as you guys are important people in my life.)

Already Knew the Proposal Was Coming

So here’s the thing–I already knew that Ken was going to propose as he told me he wanted to marry me since the first week we got together. He knew that since the second day we became a couple; for me, it took longer, about a month, to ascertain that he is indeed the one for me.

How did we know? For him it was intuition; for me it was based on a web of intense, logical assessment and subsequently intuition. Our souls connected very rapidly once we reconnected as friends this year (we knew each other nine years ago but but never got to know each other till now). It’s as if we are meant to be together but stayed as acquaintances because we were not ready before. Until now.

(More on our love story: How I Found My Soulmate (series))

So I knew that Ken was going to propose to me–probably on my birthday (June 25). How? Because he has a spoiled clock in his room and he had fixed the hour to “6” and the minutes to “25” early on in our relationship, so I knew my birthday had some significance to him. He had also regularly mentioned his intention to propose/marry me in the near future, and given that my birthday was the most immediate significant event to come, it was easy to guess that he was going to pop the question then.

The clock above his work desk. Those are my namecards behind it!

The only thing I didn’t know was how exactly he was going to propose. I wanted to leave it as a special surprise from him to me.

The Day of the Proposal (Also My Birthday, June 25)

So June 25 came. While our original plan was to spend the day out, I had to do some work. (I had to edit and send out the recording for Module 3 of the Anti-Procrastination Program.) So, we planned to head out for dinner in the evening, followed by drinks/dessert. He made a salad for me in the afternoon as I busied with my work. (He was free the whole day since he had taken a day off from work to celebrate my birthday with me.) 

Caesar salad he made for us for lunch (The watch in the background was a gift
from him; it was a watch that I had been meaning to buy for myself.)

Out for Dinner

Evening came and we went to Central Mall’s TCC for dinner, at my request.

On our way there via cab

Having dinner at TCC

Ken, celebrating my birthday with me

First Surprise

The first surprise came after dinner. We went to our individual washrooms after he footed the bill; he was nowhere to be seen after I exited from the ladies. This was highly unusual as he would always be outside waiting since I would usually take longer than him. I thought that he was probably up to something but didn’t give it much thought; I idled around a shoe shop near the washroom while waiting.

Ken emerged panting after 10 minutes with a huge bouquet of tulips and a box of Royce chocolates, wishing me happy birthday. He said the flower was my birthday gift and wished me happy birthday.

Bouquet of tulips–five white (symbolizing innocence), and five purple
(symbolizing royalty). Ten tulips in total to represent perfection. He gave me tulips because it was the first flower emoticon I used when we chatted on Whatsapp, and tulip symbolizes deep love.

Royce chocolates, cranberry flavor. He gave me Royce chocolates because
my first gift to him was Royce chocolates (marshmallow ones).

I was actually surprised that he gave me flowers because he had given me flowers not too long ago, during our first month anniversary. I didn’t want him to waste the money since flowers are highly commercial in Singapore and hence quite expensive, but since he had already bought them, I decided to accept them and thank him for his sweet gesture. I knew that this wasn’t the end of it though since he still had not popped the question, so I went with the flow and followed his lead.

Being Led to the Proposal Site — Unsuspectingly!

This was where the proposal process started!

We exited the mall and began walking along the Singapore River at Clarke Quay. Little did I know that we were being filmed at this point–by Jimson, Ken’s friend’s friend, and also a professional videographer.

Ken and I walking out of Central Mall, Clarke Quay

I was still not suspecting anything at this point because I thought he would stage the proposal near the fountain area (since that is an activity hub in Clarke Quay) or at the dessert/drinks location we were heading to.

Ken and I walking along Singapore River. That’s Jimson following and shooting us from behind!!

Back view of Ken and I. The guy on the right with the camera and tripod is another videographer secretly filming us–James, Ken’s friend!

This was when I noticed this huge bunch of red, pink, and fuchsia heart-shaped balloons along the side of the river; it was so prominent that there were even civilians/tourists standing next to it taking photos! The balloons weren’t usual in Clarke Quay’s setup; but then again there are always tons of hijinks going on at Clarke Quay, so I didn’t suspect otherwise.

Thinking that this was part of some event setup or someone was selling balloons or something like that, I went, “Woah, what is this for?” while we were walking towards the balloons.

Ken nodded in agreement and said, “Yeah, what is this for?” He later added, “Hey look, the balloons are heart shaped!”

To which I said, “Yeah, maybe someone is selling them or something?”

Ken and I standing next to the balloons. On the right was a family taking
photos with the balloons!

At the Proposal Site

At this point, Ken stopped next to the balloons and asked me if I wanted to have a chocolate. I said okay and he began removing the adhesives on the box (the box had two adhesives holding it in place).

After trying to remove the adhesive without luck, he asked me to help him out. Not suspecting anything, I said okay, and took the box from his hands.

Me peeling the adhesive on the chocolate box while Ken stood coyly by my side

This was when I could feel something was amiss. As I peeled the first adhesive, I could feel that he was jittery–he kept his hands in his pockets and kept looking left and right–something which he never does. He is usually very calm and composed and I’ve never seen him fazed about anything before except for matters concerning us.

At the same time, energetically I could feel tension, as if people were watching us and anticipating something to happen. I realized that he had stationed us right beside the huge bunch of heart-shaped balloons–the heart shape is actually a big theme in our relationship. We often show the heart symbol to each other using our fingers; we also often use the red heart icon in our Whatsapp messages to each other.

It was at this point that I put two and two together and thought, Okay, I think he’s about to propose, and the ring is probably in this box! I slowly peeled the second adhesive away on the Royce box, opened it, and sure enough, there was the ring box!

The ring box, hidden inside the chocolate box!

Upon the reveal, Ken gushed. At this point, Jimson ditched his cover and immediately swooped in front of us to capture my expression on camera, while a crowd formed around us.

This is where a video would tell the story better than words. Here you go. :)

(The video starts off with some brief scenes before the proposal.)

Some Stills from the Video…

Ken proposing :)

Hugging after I said yes

Watching the balloons fly away* as we embraced each other

People in the public taking photos and videos throughout the proposal process

Bystanders watching and celebrating our joy with us :)

Us laughing and hugging

Being interviewed by Ken’s friend after the proposal

Watching the balloons fly away*

*Post note: This proposal was in 2013, and as I now review this years later, it’s obvious to me that setting balloons into the air is environmental damaging and harmful to the marine life. Sea animals may consume plastic unknowingly thinking that it is food, causing plastic to be accumulated inside their bodies, while some may be choke or be suffocated by the plastic parts. This is true whether for plastic balloons or any plastic waste that is discarded irresponsibly.

While I did not ask for balloons to be set off as part of the proposal, I still feel partially responsible for them. Talking to Ken about this, he agrees that setting balloons into the air is a hazard and would have done the proposal differently if he were to do things all over again. This is something he did as his younger self, at a time when society and people were not as environmentally aware, and is not something he will do today.

So to any of you seeing this and having ideas to use floating balloons, please discard them responsibly and do not set them off into the air like this. Thank you!

Proposal Aftermath

The balloons which Ken referred to in the video is from this very casual comment I made to him before. There was once when I dreamed that I was at my wedding; I couldn’t see the groom’s face (it was blurry) but I distinctly recalled balloons flying up into the sky during the event. I mentioned it to him casually after my nap; I honestly didn’t expect him to remember that comment, much less make it a proposal prop!

Believe it or not–there were actually 555 balloons in total!!!

I found it cute how bystanders were taking photos, recording videos, and applauding/cheering us during the proposal; I guess as much as we are strangers, happiness and joy can always be celebrated by and shared with anyone.

Even the tourists taking the Duck & Hippo Tour noticed the commotion (I mean they had to with hundreds of bright pink and red balloons floating away into the night sky and all) and realized what was happening. They cheered and clapped as their ferry passed the proposal site. :)

Tourists on the Duck & Hippo Tour cheering for us (Blurry photo as the camera couldn’t focus in time)

And here’s a shot of the last batch of balloons as they floated away into the sky…

My Afterthought

Touched By His Gesture

While I wasn’t surprised by him proposing as I already saw it coming, I was pleasantly surprised by how he proposed and his meticulousness and effort in staging the proposal and making it happen.

For example, he planned for the proposal as early as one month ago. He opened a Whatsapp group with his personal contacts and asked them to pitch proposal ideas before deleting the group after a few days so I wouldn’t see it by chance. (He didn’t take anyone’s idea in the end as he wanted to make it personalized.)

He had arranged for 555 balloons because the number “5” has a significance in our relationship. We got together on 5th May this year, around 5:55am. (We didn’t plan for that; it just happened that way.) I once had a tarot card reading which said that I was destined to meet someone in my lifetime–this person was represented by the Hierophant card. (While I didn’t pay much heed to the reading, I later realized after getting together with Ken that he is the guy in the reading–and Hierophant is the fifth trump card in the tarot deck.)

He deliberately sourced for heart-shaped balloons because the heart symbol is particularly important in our relationship. He had to approach several balloons suppliers because many either couldn’t meet his request for heart-shaped balloons or fulfill his order quantity (555!).

Besides the balloons and the number “5,” other elements in the proposal are also specific to our relationship. For example, he hid the ring box inside a Royce chocolates box because Royce chocolates was my first gift to him as a friend. He gave me tulips as the tulip was the first flower icon I used in our Whatsapp chats; also tulips represent perfect love.

If this isn’t enough, he had actually planned to execute the proposal on June 22 during his company’s Family Day. If it had happened then, it would have been at Sentosa (a beach in Singapore) in front of a crowd of thousands! He went through great lengths for the planning–he liaised with the event organizer and emcee, arranged for his proposal-crew friends to get access passes for the event, arranged for the 555 balloons to be delivered to Sentosa that day, and even had a wet-weather plan!

Eventually the Family Day was postponed due to the haze, so he acted quickly to make the proposal happen on my birthday–with only a four-day lead time no less. Personally, I’m glad that the proposal happened the way it did, on my birthday, because it is much more personal and meaningful than the original proposal plan.

Yet…

…all these planning, from the balloons, to the chocolates, to the tulips, to the videographers, to the location sighting, etc. are not the reason why I’m marrying him. I’m marrying him because he is the love of my life and he is the person I can see myself with in this lifetime and who knows, for lifetimes beyond, if fate begets.

It wouldn’t have mattered even if he proposed to me in the bedroom on a random afternoon with the ring from a drink can; I would have said yes all the same. Because it is him I’m marrying, not the proposal.

I’m really touched that he went into all this work to plan and make this proposal happen; it simply confirms his care and love for me and that this is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with–something I’ve realized earlier on in our relationship.

Thank You :)

Thanks everyone for your congratulatory messages. :)

I’ve already been receiving really touching messages from readers and friends, from thank-you’s about how my story inspires them in their love journey, to offers to help out with our wedding, to requests to send engagement gifts, to expressed interest (even from those of you overseas) to attend our wedding if we have an open invite.

It warms me that you care for me the way I do to you too; it encourages me to continue sharing more about myself and my life with all of you here on PE.

I would also like to give a special thanks to Ken’s friends for helping out with the proposal–Derrick, Linyou, James, Jimson, and Junqi. Thank you! :)

Update Sep 2013: After many requests, I’ve written a new series sharing our love story. Read: How I Found My Soulmate, Part 1: My Journey in Love

Update Oct 2013: We recently took our engagement photos in Scotland! Check out our photos here.

Update May 25, 2014: We are now married! :D Details and photos here: My Wedding Day

(Photos: Personal Excellence)