Super excited to share the Surprise engagement of Nigel and Hui Min at Secret Rock on Lion’s Head in Cape Town with you. Nigel & Hui Min met at an orientation camp in Singapore right before starting university and have been dating since November 2012.
They got engaged on 18th August 2019 on a Sunday in Cape Town, South Africa. Nigel and Hui Min really like the number 8. In Singapore culture, 8 is a lucky number as well! Just coincidentally the 18th August is also 8 days from Hui Min’s birthday.
The super talented team, Shaun and Šárka of Cr8tive Duo captured this beautiful surprise engagement. We love this surprise engagement and it took place in the most amazing location. For more engagement stories, visit our engagements category.
Engagement Story:
It all started prior to the trip when I was able to trick Hui Min into thinking that we were going to Hokkaido, Japan, for our holiday. She was really excited and looking forward to all the awesome Japanese food that we were going to taste. There was even a fake detailed itinerary prepared so that she would not suspect anything.
It was only at the airport when we collected our boarding passes that she realized we were actually heading to South Africa! And boy was she surprised!
Fast forward to the engagement day itself, there was another cover-up, this time with the help of our photographers, Shaun and Šárka. I told Hui Min that we were going to partake in an Airbnb Experience, where our host, Shaun, would be bringing us on a sunset tour over Cape Town, followed by dinner at his “home restaurant”.
When we arrived, Shaun was a fantastic host and introduced us to our fellow “tourist”, Šárka. Shaun’s acting was top-notch, and Hui Min did not suspect at all! After we arrived at the proposal location, the cue was for me to ask Shaun to help Hui Min and I take a photo.
The moment!
It was quite hilarious as this was the first time I was at the location. I did not know if the place we were at was the exact location for the proposal. So, I asked Shaun: “Is this the nicest place to take a photograph?”.
At that point in time, he was probably thinking if I didn’t like the location and responded with. “Yeah this location is nice, but if you don’t like it, there’s another nice location around the corner”. Then I was even more confused as to whether this was the right spot. My heart was already beating so fast that I decided to just go for it.
So I passed the camera to Shaun and headed off to pose for a photo with Hui Min. While Šárka started to take candid shots of us. Right after the photo, when Hui Min was about to walk off, I held her back by the arm and asked for her hand.
The story behind your Engagement rings:
Both of us really like simple designs and our engagement ring design reflects this. It is a simple solitaire design with a tapered band to make it look sleeker. The prongs are designed to be tulip-shaped to add an additional layer of depth while maintaining the simplistic solitaire design.
Engagement Location:
We got engaged on the Secret Rock at Lion’s Head National Park, Cape Town, South Africa. The exact location was determined after a discussion with Shaun and Šárka, who professionally recommended this fantastic location after I informed them that as a couple, we really enjoyed views of nature (including the backdrop of mountains and the sea).
South-Africa:
South Africa has always been on our bucket list and one of the places that we wanted to travel to for our honeymoon alongside Canada and South America. So the opportunity arose when Hui Min was in between jobs and had a month-long break and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to plan my engagement surprise! What better place to do it than in South Africa.
The Wedding:
We have yet to settle on a wedding date yet but are currently planning for 4Q2020. The perfect wedding for us would be one that includes our closest family and friends. Ideally in a venue that has a lot of natural light flowing into the venue.
We also hope for the wedding to be as engaging as possible. We are currently toying around with a few themes including Musicals. More details would be unveiled as we develop our plan further!
Article Credits:
Photographer: Cr8tive Duo
