Quirky marriage proposals: And she said yes!

Roses are beautiful, diamonds are expensive, and gone are the days when guys use just these to propose with. Twitterati went crazy yesterday when novelist and screenwriter Durjoy Datta proposed to his girlfriend, Avantika, by live tweeting with the hashtag #marrymeavanthika. The hashtag  trended high as a result, and the whole episode garnered attention. Chennaiites are not far behind when it comes to wooing their partners, with crazy, out-of-the-box ideas, and make the big day a special memory. Case in point; Madurya Srikanth, an executive producer for a media house, who recollects the surprise proposal she got — “It was two days before our engagement, and suddenly my friends came home saying we’re going out with Srikanth. We drove off to a private yacht club and set sail into the sea. He ushered me onto the deck, and while taking photos, suddenly went down on a knee and proposed, ‘Please just say yes fast, I think we’re going to be seasick and I don’t want to lose the game of solitaire.’ So I said yes, and now we’re happily married!”

Cindy Maria, an event manager, speaks about her movie-like proposal experience — “It happened to be my birthday and that’s the day Allan (her boyfriend) proposed to me. It started off with my friends delivering flowers to me in the morning along with a card that had a clue on it — it was a treasure hunt map that led me to different different places in Chennai, where I had to do certain tasks. Two camera guys were following me around the whole day!” she says. Her tasks included bowling, having lunch with her friends, going for a makeover session, visiting a boutique so she could pick up her custom-made dress, and finally heading to a beach house on East Coast Road. “As soon as I got down from the car, my friend blindfolded me. I was led through a passage after which they started walking towards me, giving me a rose and finally in the middle of it all, was my boyfriend holding out a card saying ‘You’re my forever.’ He got down on one knee and had to ask me to marry him thrice before I finally responded!” Cindy says.

Ever thought about proposing underwater? Aravind Tharunsri of Temple Adventure Puducherry, is a specialist at helping you do just this! “A guy got in touch with me for a proposal, so I got him to print out ‘Will you marry me?’ on a water-proof vinyl banner, then got the bouquet and ring from him. We took her into the water first; then followed with the guy. So with all the fish swimming around, he asked for her hand in marriage. We had cameras capturing her reaction — and she kissed him!” Aravind smiles.

For Anitha and Prakash (names changed) it was more than a dream come true. Since they are out of town, a close friend shared their wedding proposal. “Prakash wanted to surprise Anitha and took her shopping to a mall in the city. Once the shopping was done, a crew of 20 members started dancing in a flash mob with placards asking her to marry him! Anitha was taken aback by the gesture and said ‘yes’ to Prakash.” Clearly, being in love inspires a burst of creativity, and then some!