How They Asked: Proposal Stories That Made Us Swoon

From grand romantic gestures to sneaky surprises, here are six proposal stories from the past year that made our hearts swell.

The past year saw the cancellation of many weddings, with countless plans for large lavish gatherings and dreamy destination weddings thrown into disarray. However, after asking our Instagram followers to share their personal proposal stories, we were pleased to find that the pandemic hardly deterred people in love from getting down on one knee and popping the question. We have stories that will make you swoon, laugh and reach straight for the tissues, including one from our very own Weddings Partnerships Manager Emily! Read on for more…

Read more: Where To Propose In Hong Kong

Emily & Hing

It was a Friday and we both decided to take the day off to use up our annual leave. He suggested I pick somewhere to go for lunch and he would pick somewhere for dinner. I was a bit suspicious at this point as he never normally initiates these types of plans, but I just went with it. After an afternoon at the Hong Kong Museum of Art and then my pick of Hue for lunch, we were back in the flat getting ready to head out for dinner. My suspicions soon subsided as he was still not dressed and taking a nap 10 minutes before we had to leave. I thought there is no way he’s proposing as he’s far too calm and relaxed!

We ended up going to Hutong for dinner. I was super pleased at his choice as I’d hinted a good number of times that I wanted to check out the Red Lantern dinner set, and he never usually picks up on my cues! When we left the restaurant, he suggested we take a walk. At this point, my heart started racing as he normally hates walking around in the summer heat – could it really be happening?

We ended up at 1881 Heritage and after pottering around for what seemed like hours, he led me down the side of the building where I spotted some candles and rose petals laid out on the floor and a photographer lurking in the bushes! Even at this point I wasn’t certain what was happening and asked him, “Is that for us?”,  to which he just grinned.

We had been together for 10 years at that point and I had always thought I would be super calm and collected when he popped the question, but instead I was bawling my eyes out before he even said anything. He had a long speech prepared but it was all a big blur to me (sorry Hing!), he got down on one knee and before he finished popping the question I had already blurted out yes (so much for playing it cool).

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, we headed off to The Murray where he had booked us a staycation. When we got to our room there was the biggest bouquet of 99 red roses! He asked me not to tell any of our friends and family yet as he had planned catch-ups and dinners with everyone. We then spent the entire weekend celebrating and surprising our loved ones in person with our news.

Schoanna & Amrit

Amrit’s birthday weekend was coming up and he told me to save the date for a family birthday brunch at the ICC. On the day, he met me at the entrance of The Odyssey, a gorgeous French dining kitchen. He led me in and right when I was about to ask where his family was, he swung open the doors to the most stunning private dining room with 360 degree sweeping views of Hong Kong on the most beautiful sunny day.

There were red flower petals everywhere, photos of all our favourite memories together strung together on the wall, and Amrit on one knee asking me to begin our “odyssey” together. It was breathtaking and overwhelming all at the same time – but it was perfect. I said yes, and what followed was the engagement weekend of our dreams!

After a specially curated lunch at the restaurant, he led me down to the ICC lobby where a vintage Rolls Royce picked us up for a ride around the city! He told me this was our ride “home” where our family would be waiting to greet us. But it was one surprise after another! As we approached Tsim Sha Tsui, the car suddenly made a turn into my favourite hotel in the city, The Peninsula. He explained that this would be our “home” for the weekend. He led me into a gorgeous suite where both our families were waiting to greet us, with more flowers, balloons, hugs and tears of joy. And it wasn’t over just yet; he showed me to a wardrobe in our suite that he had stocked with outfits for me – it was going to be a weekend of non-stop celebrations!

Amrit had organised an intimate cocktail party that evening for us to celebrate with all our closest friends, followed by a cosy family brunch the following day with our extended family. And then it was time for Amrit’s birthday party (that I had organised for weeks before – little did I know, I was planning my own engagement party!). Amrit and I walked into our favourite club, to all of our friends and family holding up sparklers and huge banners saying “#AmzForScho”.

Needless to say, it was the best weekend of our lives!

Nikki & Luke

For a while, pilots were not allowed to enter the city due to the pandemic, so I hadn’t seen Luke (who’s a cargo pilot) in months. I was absolutely intent on flying to Alaska to be with him over the holidays – even knowing I had to quarantine for 21 days coming back.

My flight was over 30 hours long but it was all worth it, landing me in a winter wonderland. He suggested that we stop by Virgin Creek Falls before “the weather gets bad”. I was excited (and clueless) – I thought it would be a great opportunity for a before and after shot on Instagram since we were there over the summer last year.

Everything was covered in snow. I didn’t have my ice-legs yet so he held my hand the whole time. There was a small group ahead and it was getting more slippery so I suggested that we just stay in that spot. He insisted that the view higher up was a lot better so we kept going. He was right, it was beautiful!

Seeing it for the first time covered in snow, I was in awe. I was taking a panoramic video and as I turned back towards him, he said “So, there’s a reason why I brought you up here…” He took out the box and asked if I would marry him. I WEPT… and said “I DO!”. Then we both laughed because that’s not what you’re supposed to say until the wedding, haha!

Marie & James

James and I made the decision to move back to Canada after spending two years in Hong Kong. For our last month in the city, we treated ourselves to a staycation at the Cordis Hotel, since our original travel plans had to be cancelled.

I had an afternoon tea booked with a friend and agreed to meet James back in the room afterwards. When I arrived at our room, he was not there. Instead I found a bouquet of my favourite flowers and a note asking me to wear my favourite dress and meet him in the lobby for a surprise dinner. I was so excited and nervous, I felt just like I did on our first date.

When I got to the lobby, I found him waiting for me, then we then jumped in a cab to Hutong. He chose the restaurant so we would have a front row seat to our very last light show. The food and ambiance took us right back to one of our favourite trips to China. After dinner and a few drinks, I started to feel tired, so he suggested we walk along the harbour and he led me to Ocean Terminal Deck to take in the view one more time.

He then told me all these beautiful things that seem like a blur now, but I’ll never forget the feeling and the emotion I felt when he got down on one knee and proposed! I had to say yes twice because I was so choked up. I always told him I preferred a more intimate proposal, so I was happy that he chose this quiet place and its beautiful backdrop to pop the question, as opposed to the bustling restaurant.

Once we got back to the hotel, the concierge had arranged a bottle of chilled champagne and chocolate covered strawberries for us, which was the perfect nightcap!

Melody & Nigel

Nigel and I were going through a period of long distance during 2020 due to the pandemic. He had just moved to Singapore and I was still in Hong Kong, but I intended to visit him at least once a month with the hopes of finding a job there. That is, until the Singapore border was closed for all visitors. We agreed that we would get married if I really couldn’t find a job by summer, so that we could be together.

Months go by, and with no end in sight, we decided enough was enough and to go through with marriage registration. With restrictions slightly eased in Singapore, Nigel managed to come back to Hong Kong. During quarantine, he suggested to have a staycation before our marriage registration so we could spend a bit of time together after not seeing each other for so long. So, we booked a room at the Grand Hyatt and enjoyed the club lounge for afternoon tea and pre-dinner drinks.

Right before dinner, we went back to our room and Nigel blindfolded me before we entered. I was confused about what was going on! Then he sat me down on the sofa, I took off my blindfold, and there he was kneeling and crying with a beautiful rose gold diamond ring highlighted with a light-up box!

I couldn’t remember much of what he said at that moment, I was processing what was going on, plus the fact he managed to get a ring and catch me by surprise!

I think you can assume what the answer was – the easiest YES!

We got married three days later!

Jess & Sam

Sam and I have always loved going on hikes and it has become a weekend ritual for us to go for a hike around our area (which also helped to keep us sane throughout 2020). One morning, I was feeling particularly lazy and wasn’t too keen on going. Normally he would cuddle up and snooze with me, however that morning he was especially insistent. “It doesn’t have to be a long one sweetie, it’ll be good for us to get some fresh air!”

I eventually succumbed and, since it was supposed to be a short hike, we went out in just our t-shirts and shorts and brought nothing with us (or so I thought!).

We usually take this particular route that has a fantastic lookout, which stretches out like Pride Rock in The Lion King and overlooks the Victoria Harbour. However, Sam was not so eager this time, claiming the scene was “ruined” by a family eating apples at the lookout. This was a bit unlike him, but I didn’t think too much of it and walked along.

After a while he suddenly veered off onto a stray path, mumbling something about exploring, and waved for me to follow him. We got to a clearing with a bit of a view of Hong Kong and he started talking about the view and our lives together in Hong Kong. Before I could even react, he went down on one knee and took the ring out of a small flat silk pouch from his pocket. Without even thinking I said “Yes!”

Brought to you in partnership with Diamond Registry.

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