Why Dubai is one of the world’s favourite proposal hotspots

Caroline Ralston, who hails from Cheshire in northwest England, was a travel and tourism teacher back home until she came across an open–day advertisement for cabin crew with Emirates airline in Belfast in 2011. She took the first available flight to Belfast and as luck would have it, she landed the job. Soon, she landed in Dubai and started flying economy class for the next two years until she worked her way up to first class and eventually to private jets.

In retrospect, 2012 proved to be a defining year in her life when her partner, Tom Ralston, her university sweetheart, flew her to New York and proposed in the Big Apple with a giant heart-shaped engagement ring. The proposal swept Caroline off her feet. “Every single flight, I was meeting 20 other crew members who would all ask about my unique engagement ring and were keen to know about my proposal,” she says.

It was then she realised how much importance people put on the proposal, so she started to do a bit of research and couldn’t believe that there was no one planning proposals in Dubai. She, then, had the idea to set up the first proposal planning company in the UAE in 2014.

They have now been operating for eight years and have planned over 400 successful proposals for clients who are looking for “unforgettable, bespoke and luxurious proposals”. Caroline’s line of business has grown exponentially to attract high-flying people from across the globe. Their clients have the money to splurge but are overwhelmed with the proposal planning and don’t know where to start. Proposal Boutique helps them with the idea generation by sending out detailed consultation forms, they then create a unique proposal concept and work on all the detailed planning to make it a unique and personal proposal that is tailored specifically to the couple.

From venue scouting to custom designing showstopping props, to arranging flowers, décor, luxury transportation, to hiring photographers, videographers, balloon artists, pyrotechnicians, musicians, flash mob dancers, engagement ring shopping and even proposal speech assistance, Caroline and her team are a one-stop concierge service for their clients who want to make their proposals romantic and unforgettable.

So, how much does it cost to sweep your partner off her feet? Usually, it costs anywhere between Dh40,000 and Dh60,000 for a mid-range proposal. But then, the sky’s the limit and their packages go up to Dh300,000 for a proposal that lights up the Burj Khalifa, which can be viewed from a candlelit rooftop close by.

Caroline admits that when she set up the company in 2014, no one understood what a proposal planner was, but she says, “Dubai has everything needed to make it the number one proposal destination in the world. The city can beat other romantic places such as London, Paris and New York and I’m working towards that,” she adds.

So, it’s no wonder they have been entrusted in planning some high-profile proposals. For instance, English footballer Lewis O’Brien’s proposal to his partner Robyn Hartley falls in that category. “We planned a stunning beach proposal for Lewis. We rented a private stretch of beach with views of Burj Al Arab and created a romantic proposal setup with giant light up MARRY ME letters, musicians, fireworks and a private photographer and videographer,” she recounts.

Similarly, YouTube sensation Shaquan Roberts proposed to Rissa G. “Our client was flying from New York for his big Dubai proposal. We hired a private rooftop overlooking Dubai Marina and Ain Dubai. We filled the rooftop with thousands of fresh red roses, candles, custom light up letters and balloons. The couple arrived in a Rolls Royce Phantom and the famous jeweller was flown in from New York to hand him the ring for the occasion (the ring costs hundreds of thousands of US dollars),” she adds.

joydeep@khaleejtimes.com