DUBAI: Whether you want to pop the question to your special someone on the top of Burj Khalifa or amidst sea creatures, UAE-based Proposal Boutique has been a haven for those looking to make their special day perfect — including loved-up international celebrities.
From across the globe, couples have picked the UAE to memorialize their big day, with the Proposal Boutique having pulled off more than 400 marriage proposals, including for international footballers like British player Lewis O’Brien, YouTube stars such as US personality Shaquan Roberts, CEOs and global influencers. Now, Proposal Boutique is looking to help couples in the region go international by offering experiences in London, Paris, Santorini, Nigeria and New York.
Founded in 2014, Proposal Boutique was born when the UK’s Caroline Ralston received her own dream engagement. “His proposal was very, very romantic. It was over five days and I came back to Dubai and I was telling everyone about how amazing it was. And the responses that I got were very similar. They were like, ‘Oh, I wish that my husband proposed like that.’ Or, ‘If my boyfriend proposes, will you help them?’ So I started doing some research on how to help friends with their proposals in Dubai. And there was no one offering any help. So, I needed to be that person,” she said.
“I’m so romantic. I love love. It was a no-brainer,” she added with a laugh.
In one of the company’s most extravagant proposals, a Taiwanese would-be groom proposed to his partner with no less than three engagement rings over three different proposals, all in the course of a day.
“We wanted to incorporate lots of amazing Dubai elements. We arranged for a helicopter ride in the morning. He proposed mid-flight, and gave her the first ring of the day. And then we had a Rolls Royce waiting for them which brought them to the Montgomery golf course. We’d privatized the whole golf course so there was no one around.
“We’d arranged a flashmob and we’d actually involved him in the dance rehearsals for a couple of weeks ahead of the proposal. And so he jumped off the golf course buggy for the last bit and danced with them. And then he proposed again. Then the car picked them up and took them to Burj Al-Arab. And we’d hired the private underwater dining room and filled it completely with all her favorite flowers, and we had a musician there that was serenading them. And, finally, two divers came down with the ‘Marry Me’ banner and that’s where he got down on one knee and proposed with the third and final ring.”
From proposals set at a zoo in Dubai to the Rugby Sevens stadium in Los Angeles, Ralston and her team have worked hard to ensure that no two proposals are alike. “We just want to help our Dubai residents and international clients have the biggest and best proposals around the world. And no country is off-limits. We can travel anywhere.”
