Man behind more than 100 proposals gets girlfriend after 3 years
PUBLISHED ONMarch 03, 2015 6:33 AMByNoor Ashikin Abdul Rahman
Since he started proposal planning company HelpYouMarry in 2012, Mr Lee Ming Hui has helped plan more than 100 marriage proposals.
He is even starring in the local Channel 5 reality series The Proposal, where the self-styled "proposal architect" and his team work with 10 "young Romeos" who attempt to surprise their lovers with a proposal to remember.
Ironically, the man behind all this has been single for the last three years since the business kicked off.
Mr Lee, 31, told The New Paper over the phone last week: "I was searching for love while helping couples with their proposals. I saw romantic moments and felt a little envious."
Mr Lee, who admitted that he is "lovey-dovey deep down", saw his fate change on Valentine's Day this year.
He is now dating someone he has been wooing for over a month since the pair met at a mutual friend's wedding.
He prefers to keep her identity under wraps and would reveal only that she works in the banking sector.
Mr Lee had two girlfriends before this relationship.
It was par for the course for him to create a romantic setting just to ask her to be his girlfriend - he put together a candlelit dinner by the beach, complete with wine and music.
"Midway through, I made an excuse to go to my car to get a bouquet of flowers I had bought for her. I surprised her with it and then said my confession speech. I was so nervous," he recalled.
For once, he said, he was in the shoes of the men who have proposed to their partners with his help.
Mr Lee, who has a degree in marketing from the National University of Singapore's Business School, left his market research job after three years to set up HelpYouMarry in 2012 with his partners Jennifer Goh and Isaac Koh, who are engaged.
"At that point in time, a lot of our friends were getting married. Some of the marriage proposals were great while others were not so great. We thought there was a market for helping to plan the concept of proposals," he said.
According to him, there has been a 100 per cent success rate so far, at a cost that can range from $3,500 to $10,000 per package, depending on how elaborate and how logistically-intensive it is. Most typically cost between $4,500 and $5,000.
WILD
On the 10-episode The Proposal, which airs on Sundays at 10.30pm, Mr Lee said: "The coolest thing about the show is that you can do some of the wildest things because you have access to (many) places.
"We follow through with most ideas, but not if there is a possibility of a safety issue or one that might involve a clash with the authorities." He once rejected a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed proposal.
"There was a guy who wanted to jump off the yacht into the sea. We had to scrap that," he explained.
HelpYouMarry has both tourists and locals as customers, but Singaporeans in general are a sentimental lot, said Mr Lee.
"They like to tap on special moments together or memories and use that to create a memorable proposal," he said.
One of his favourite moments on the show was in yesterday's episode, when a man organised a special dog show for his dog-loving girlfriend together with their friends.
"I could tell he was so in love with her and the proposal was a great way to incorporate something that she loves to make her happy," Mr Lee said.
All his clients on The Proposal have been easy-going and fuss-free, resulting in the proposals ending on a happy note.
SATISFIED
Two couples from the show, which was filmed over eight months until January this year, said they were happy with Mr Lee's ideas and are now blissfully married.
Videographer Keith Yong, 26, went to furniture store Ikea with Ms Alicia Tan, his then-girlfriend of seven years, where he planned to give her a scare before popping the question.
The unconventional proposal saw him "shoplifting" before she was approached by a staff member and told of his "crime".
Mr Yong told TNP: "I wanted her to experience different emotions - embarrassment, shock and surprise - before I asked her to marry me."
Ms Tan, a 25-year-old marketing executive, said: "I thought he would be the kind to propose in a traditional manner with the usual ring and flowers. I really did not expect him to come up with this and was very shocked.
"For a moment, I didn't know how to react, but of course I said yes."
For travel junkies Jason Goh and Diana Koh, who are both in their late 20s, the proposal took place at Changi Airport, before their flight that day.
He had planned a pampering session, including a massage and having her make-up done, before surprising her with a mini play and musical performance based on their memories together.
Ms Koh, an executive in the finance sector, was touched that her husband went to such lengths.
"I am thankful he did all this for me and wouldn't have it any other way."
Fancy popping the question?
MOST ELABORATE
"A Hong Kong-based Briton in his 40s had planned to propose to his girlfriend in Singapore. He wanted a Mission Impossible-meets-jewellery heist concept to raise her suspicion that he might be a jewellery thief. There was even a mock newspaper article on the "robbery" with his photo on the page. After dinner, two people posed as detectives to interrogate him and found a diamond ring, which was when he sang a song for her and proposed. The total cost was about $5,000."
MOST EXPENSIVE
"It took place at colonial mansion The White House at Mount Emily. There were elaborate decorations and a billboard-sized photo montage of all the couple's personal snaps. We also catered food for a post-proposal dinner. It was very fancy and cost about $10,000."
MOST ROMANTIC
"The man's girlfriend managed to discover his initial proposal plan, so he came to us for a new plan. He wanted to take her to Sentosa's laser light and music display show Songs of the Sea, but instead, we staged a shadow play show by the sea based on their love story. She was so surprised she burst into tears to the point that I was teary myself. This couple were so in love."
MOST LOW-COST AND UNCONVENTIONAL
"It was an unusual location - a grass patch behind a temple at Tanjong Pagar. We had to chase away wild dogs from the area. We initially advised the man against it, but went ahead anyway because it was a sentimental venue for them. This was also one of the most unconventional proposals to date, sweet and simple because it did not involve fancy logistics. It cost about $1,500 (for the decorative set up, styling, and proposal video)."
MOST CHALLENGING
"Last December, we planned a beach treasure hunt proposal which also involved an imported Doraemon mascot. Unfortunately, it rained the entire day and we only had an hour of relief from the rain to execute everything."
ashikinr@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on March 02, 2015.
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