It was 7am in the morning when I arrived at Steph’s place. She had only just woken up and required another “5 minutes of sleep.” 7:30am and we were away, heading towards the Royal Botanic Gardens…
“Remember that time we tried to organise a picnic but it was too hot, so we celebrated NYE at your place?”
“Yah.”
“Do you know where that place was?”
“Hmmm… can’t remember.”
“Well, that’s where we’re going – Royal Botanic Gardens.”
“Okay.”
It was 8:00am when we arrived at Gate E. Right on schedule. Unknown to her, I quickly speed-dialled/miss-called James who responded with another: we’re in position.
We walked along the planned route, however we didn’t stop at various spots as originally intended. I was carrying a picnic bag and rug, as well as my laptop bag, while Steph was carrying her Bible, notepad and handbag. Too heavy, she decided, and quickly kept walking where I wanted to slow down and stop! To take her out so early in the morning, I told her we would do something random (we do random things quite a bit) in a park… we would do some “Quiet Time” (which is Christian-speak for reading the Bible, praying, etc).
A few times I noticed Lee-Mei ducking in and out of bushes (unknown to Steph, of course); and when we reached Picnic Point, our destination, I couldn’t even spot James who was meant to be at the cafe across the lake. (He mentioned later that he was there, looking in between a pillar and a wooden post – very well hidden!) I pulled out the picnic rug and we sat together and prayed. Twice when it was Steph’s turn to pray I sneaked a look to see when James would be in position for the proposal shots. The first time I looked, Steph caught my glance! Apparently she was “looking around at nature” as well haha!!
The moment we finished our prayer, James was in position. It was time for the “signal” to indicate to him that I would propose. The “signal” was for me to flick the rug – which meant both of us had to stand up. At the very time I was about to do that, Steph said she wanted to eat, pointing towards the picnic bag. With that, I told her we’ll rearrange the rug and stood up (which she thought was quite odd). As she also got to her feet, I picked up the rug, gave it a flick as if to remove dust and re-positioned it. Steph was standing at this time, still wondering what’s for breakfast. At this point I knelt on the rug – perfect: she was standing, I was kneeling, and she had no idea what was about to come. I proceeded to reach into the picnic bag. She was still waiting for me to pull some crossiant or whatever out when I suddenly asked her:
“Hey dear, what’s the time?”
Reading her watch, she replied: “8:30”
“Do you know what that means?”
“Um… it’s not the 16th”, she thought aloud. (We would always call each other every month on the 16th at 8:30am to wish each other “happy monthly anniversary!”)
“Well, I know it’s not the 16th, but 8:30 is significant for us. Do you know why?” Not waiting for a reply, I continued: “Do you know why I brought you all the way here?” Her eyes told me her confusion was beginning to turn into realisation. “You know what 8:30 in the morning means for us. It meant we began our relationship together. And today, it will mean the next step.” Tears began to form in her eyes when she finally realised what was happening. I brought out the box from the picnic bag. “So… Will you marry me?”
With that she squealed and made funny, Steph-like heavy breathing noises and hugged me. Some tears also began to well up in my eyes. As we hugged, I pressed with one more question:
“Was that a yes or no?”
“YA YA!”
As we released each other we both realised I was still holding the box. She moved first:
“So are you gonna put that on my finger?”
With a sheepish grin I placed it on her finger.
Almost breathless, she spoke up: “WAAAHHHH!!! Thank you, dear!!!! It’s perfect!!!!!”
With breakfast no longer running through her mind, I brought out the laptop. (Yes, we’re techno-geeks!) I began to show her 6-months worth of proposal plans, summarised in a few posts on this blog. When she got to the part where it mentioned James and Lee-Mei, she immediately popped her head up (narrowly missing my nose) and scanned the area. Failing to find either of them, she looked down on the laptop, where I showed her the “Operation: Weinberger” slides. For those of you who don’t know, this was the on-the-fly nickname given to this proposal plan. See this post for more info. When she saw the map, she scanned one more time and finally saw James not even 20 metres away sitting cross-legged in the open happily snapping away.
Soon James and Lee-Mei joined us and we celebrated with chocolates and Appletiser drinks. Not skipping the techno-beat, we jumped online and changed our Facebook statuses. Shortly after we were on the phones sending out mass smses. The smses and calls started streaming in. Steph’s Mum welcomed me into the Tongs and Zack welcomed Steph to the Leongs.
It was an overcast sky with occasional drops of rain. Whilst I had hoped for a clear blue sky, at least we were provided with a blanket from the hot sun and we were spared from heavy rains!
Photos will be up shortly, but for now, here’s the post many of you guys were waiting for!
[Post-edit: here they are!]
God bless!
Sam.
SGS 
Well planned and executed! Nice one Sam! Wish the both of you the best of times and may you look forward to the many blessings He has in store for the both of you.
As for the trials, well, you cant climb a smooth mountain, as steep as it is.
God bless, Psalm 121
By: ben on 27 October, 2008
at 8:48 pm
Nothing less than what I expected for you Sammerz!!! that was just so sweet. 🙂
Congratulations to both of you. Can’t wait to see the photos!!!
By: Tiff on 28 October, 2008
at 6:53 am
Hey guys – that’s so sweet! I’m so glad to see that God is the centre of the two of you – the way it should be. Congratulations again =) How exciting!
By: Corrinne on 28 October, 2008
at 7:45 am
You gotta love friends who pop in and out with cameras 😉 Congrats guys and fantastic work Samster. Here’s to you both, CHEERS!
By: Irwin on 28 October, 2008
at 7:54 am
AAwwww Sam
i’m like crying here at uni
it was soooo sweet
so meaningful
i love it
Congrats to both of you
By: Felicia Koh on 28 October, 2008
at 8:05 am
Congrats!!!
I have a tear in my eye.
So sweet…well planned.
Well Done:)
Cant wait for the photos
xoxoxoxx
By: Katrina on 28 October, 2008
at 8:18 am
YAAAAAAAA. Woohoo!
Can’t wait to see the photos.
Perfect.
Congratulations guys.
Love Ange
By: Angela Coombs on 28 October, 2008
at 8:38 am
Awwwww… that’s sweet. And so so well planned – as expected from you Sam!
You must’ve been so distracted while you were praying Sam…
And to see the two of you uplift God in the centre of your relationship is an encouragement to many!
Yay! Congrats again…
By: Sarah on 28 October, 2008
at 9:33 am
Well planned Sam LOL
hehehe, congrats to both of you… ^^
Pictures please!! 😛
By: Astrid on 28 October, 2008
at 10:29 am
Wooohoo finally! Well done Sam, Congrats to both of you!!!!!!!!! I’m so excited! God Bless!
By: Andria on 28 October, 2008
at 11:21 am
Well done, Sam! 😀
Congrats to the both of you… can’t wait for the wedding! 🙂
By: gloria on 28 October, 2008
at 11:53 am
Congrats to the two of you! Nice one!
Truly, an enchanting read!!
By: Davina on 28 October, 2008
at 1:46 pm
wow that is so romantic i almost cried:) so happy for you guys! God bless! love is wonderful indeed:))))
By: Jackie Fox on 28 October, 2008
at 1:52 pm
Congratulations Sam and Steph :)!!
I’m very happy for the both of you!
May God always be the pillar of your relationship together!
*hugs and kisses*
By: mel on 28 October, 2008
at 2:10 pm
Oh my gosh…how awesome. Great news Sam an Steph. May God bless you both always. What a laugh reading your story…very typical!
By: Jenny Crameri on 28 October, 2008
at 3:04 pm
Wow!! Congratulations Sam!!!! You’re one shining inspiration, and I am so glad things are going so well for you and Steph.
I am usually not a very emotional type of guy, but I was definitely moved by what you wrote, and how Steph reacted.
Wishing you two all the best.
By: Lucian on 28 October, 2008
at 3:59 pm
CONGRATS Sam and Steph!! Sammy, what a great “Sam-wise” kinda proposal!! Good on ya mate!! That is such exciting news and I am very impressed that the operation had a german sounding name!! Can’t wait for the photos!! Again, huge congrats to the both of you!!
By: sean mathai on 28 October, 2008
at 4:06 pm
Congratulations to the both of you!!!! =)
so much planning… lol well done big bro
Awesome story-telling and all 😀
God bless!
By: Joanna on 28 October, 2008
at 8:55 pm
Congratulations to both of you!!! You’ve all the blessings from me and Angel Gabriel … can’t wait to witness this special day to come… Steph, I am so happy for you, knowing that you are in good hands…. love you always …..
By: Betsy on 28 October, 2008
at 9:15 pm
Sam…prayers of blessings from perth to melb. Sam, congrats for not being late!!..hehe and Steph, hope to meet you soon. to both of you, CONGRATULATIONS!!….keep trustiing Him. God bless you both!!
By: Vianny on 28 October, 2008
at 10:41 pm
Congratulations Sam and Steph.
The planning for the proposal was systematic and well thought through. Being an engineer I surprised you did not do a JSA (Job Safety Analysis) hahahah.
The storyline was very enthralling…with a joyous ending. Thanks for sharing with us your SGS journey
See you when back in Perth
God bless you both
Vincent Go
By: Vincent on 30 October, 2008
at 9:30 am
That’s such a sweet proposal plan… I could imagine it scene by scene reading it through.
Congratulations and all the best!!!
By: Xin on 30 October, 2008
at 9:47 am
Congratualtions and live-life description and photos included really took me through scene by scene. I am sure this will bring good memories years after years. I guess next step would be big day.
Well done, Sam. (although we haven’t met before ;P)
By: Marc on 30 October, 2008
at 2:45 pm
Congrats Sam & Steph.
May God continue to be the centre of your relationship and be blessed with abundance.
Happy planning for the wedding 🙂
GBU
By: Harry on 31 October, 2008
at 8:46 am
Did anyone else get teary reading this? Well done Sambo. Ken said ‘He’s putting us guys to shame’ but to Ken’s credit, we had an awesome 5 year anniversary celebration the week of your proposal so thumbs up all round!
By: Keira Johnston on 01 November, 2008
at 12:54 pm
So did you guys end up eating breakfast after all??!!
Lovely shots, love your little descriptive captions.
Congratulations to you both 🙂
xo
Su-Ann
By: Su-Ann Loh on 02 November, 2008
at 5:32 pm