Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
February 2021
Belicia and Nicholas’s Surprise Proposal at The Fullerton Bay Hotel
Wedding planner and stylist, Belicia, was surprised with a romantic proposal by the love of her life, Nicholas. Read about the details here!
Belicia and Nicholas were secondary school besties whose friendship eventually blossomed into love, as they discovered how much they clicked and enjoyed each other’s company. After over a decade of courtship, Nicholas decided to pop the question, but it was no easy feat to plan a proposal, especially a surprise one, for Belicia who lives and breathes weddings on a daily basis as a wedding planner and stylist. But, with some help and hints, he succeeded in surprising her with a proposal by the bay, under the guise of celebrating their anniversary with a meal at The Landing Point and a staycation at The Fullerton Bay Hotel. Read about how he managed to pull it off here!
Share with us what you love most about your partner.
Belicia: Nicholas has always been a fun and easy-going person to be with. He makes me feel comfortable around him and we have never-ending conversations. He is my best friend and has seen me through the good and bad moments in my life. There is no one I’d rather spend the rest of my life with.
Nicholas: She’s brilliant, smart and driven, and is unlike any other girl I’ve ever met. I love that I can be who I truly am with her and she is my soulmate.
Tell us about the surprise proposal! Nicholas, how did you go about planning the surprise proposal for Belicia? Was it difficult keeping it from her? Did you run into any challenges during the process?
I started planning the proposal one year ago. The first thing I did was to set the date, which is our first anniversary, 27 November.
Along the way, I kept trying to find out what her ideal proposal was by getting hints from her. As she is a wedding planner, she’d always tell me her likes and dislikes for wedding proposals or weddings. Like the color of flowers that she likes (white roses, and she hates red roses as she thinks it’s mainstream), how she loves photos taken in the outdoors but would prefer not to have her proposal or wedding done outdoors as it would ruin her makeup, and so on.
Once I had enough hints, I discussed and brainstormed for ideas with her sister. It was quite difficult to hide the planning from her but I worked closely with her family to plan around her schedule. Once, I was supposed to meet her sister at their family’s restaurant for a discussion and Belicia asked to meet me for dinner out of the blue. So, since her sister and I, and one of her friends, were already there, we agreed to meet her at the restaurant for dinner and tried to be as unsuspecting as we could.
After we’ve finalised the idea for her proposal, I approached her florist from Flora Artisan and stylist from Manna Weddings to create the floral decorations for her proposal. It was the best decision because they were people who worked with Belicia on a daily basis, and knew exactly what she would like for her wedding flowers, so my plan worked out perfectly.
On the actual day of the proposal, I had no time to worry about the nitty-gritty details, so I left the coordination of the set-up and decorations to her siblings and wedding coordinator from Manna Weddings, and it was the best decision of my life!
Belicia, did you suspect Nicholas was planning something in secret prior to your proposal, or were you completely taken by surprise?
I was completely caught off-guard and taken by surprise! I had absolutely no idea and did not know that he was planning a proposal the entire time as we did not have a discussion on when we were planning to get married since I’m a person who loves to go with the flow and let things happen the way it is! I’ve always been spontaneous and an easy-going person, and I love the idea of just letting things happen in life!
Share with us what happened on the day of the surprise proposal!
Belicia:We had our anniversary celebration planned with a lovely day out at one of our favourite hi-tea spots in Singapore – The Landing Point at The Fullerton Bay Hotel. I was dolled up for the occasion as it was a celebration that was special to the both of us. The food and views were amazing, we enjoyed ourselves and had a lovely time.
After the hi-tea, Nicholas said he had a surprise for me and led me upstairs to one of the rooms. I was a little suspicious when he said that but he quelled them by telling me that it was a staycation to celebrate our anniversary! The room overlooked the view of the city, and I loved it. The first thing I’ll do when I step into a hotel room is to turn the TV on and get comfy, but when the TV appeared to be faulty, Nicholas took the opportunity to “call the reception”. Little did i know, it was all part of his plan for me to let my guard down!
The receptionist was absolutely amazing and went along with his plan. She apologised and explained that there was some technical issues with the room and offered to transfer us to another room instead. I was definitely not expecting something like a proposal to happen at this point, as she played along so well. So, we followed her to a new room. When she opened the door, there was a stunning set up with foliage and fairy lights lining the entryway, and a photo display of all our photos on the tables, as well as on balloons. Reality hit me as soon as I realised what was happening and I literally teared up!
Nicholas guided me into the room, sat me down on the bed and he turned the TV on. A video that he had specially prepared with my sister, consisting of our journey together, played on screen. I was crying at this point as I was so touched. Benji, from Amare Pixels Photography, was there to capture this intimate and special moment that I will forever hold close to my heart and never forget.
Once the video ended, Nicholas led me out to the balcony and revealed a beautiful set-up with my favourite white roses and fairy lights. He got down on one knee, and popped the question against the gorgeous views of Marina Bay Sands, and sea. And of course, I said yes, definitely!
Belicia, did you suspect something was up on the day itself? When did you realise that you were going to be proposed to, and how did you feel?
I only realised that I was getting proposed to when I was led into the second room where the proposal set up was. It felt beyond surreal! I’ve always dreamt of this moment, but when it happened, I was overwhelmed with emotions and I couldn’t help but cry because I was so touched.
Belicia, was your engagement ring a complete surprise as well? Or, did you pick it out together with Nicholas, only to have him spring you a surprise proposal without you knowing?
Yes, it was indeed the most pleasant surprise and I had absolutely no idea that he had gone ring shopping with my mother and sister five months ago whilst planning for the perfect moment for the proposal. The design was flawless and he had nailed it – with small diamonds on the engagement band (I love the little details that went into the ring) and the main diamond in the middle. He had also designed it in such a way where you can see a heart shaped crown from the side and I’m so in love with it. He had also gauged the size of the ring pretty well and the ring was a good fit, with the perfect stats for the cut, clarity and colour! I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Nicholas, any tips for grooms-to-be who are planning a surprise proposal?
I would suggest engaging a wedding planner to plan the proposal with you so you can focus on the special moments or remember your speech instead of worrying about the nitty gritty details of the proposal, since it will be a moment you will remember for the rest of your life!
The Venue: The Fullerton Bay Hotel
The Bride’s Outfit: SHEIN
The Groom’s Outfit: Zara
The Pre-Wedding Photographer: Amare Pixels
The Engagement Ring: Michael Trio
The Event Stylist: Flora Artisan
The Event Conceptualist: Manna Weddings
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