In a heartwarming display of love, a man orchestrated an elaborate Bollywood-inspired surprise wedding proposal for his girlfriend at Auckland airport, according to CNN. The video of the innovative proposal is now going viral on social media. Yashraj Chhabra went down on one knee in front of thousands of people to propose to his girlfriend Riiya Shukla on August 18. He took over the passenger announcement system to declare his love to his partner and ask her to marry him, the outlet further said.
Watch the video:
Mr Chhabra, a banking specialist from Auckland, said he wanted to do something his girlfriend would never forget.
Ms Shukla works as a project manager in Auckland, and when she booked flight from Melbourne, he devised a plan.
"She's a hard woman to surprise and I really wanted to catch her off guard," Mr Chhabra told New Zealand Herald.
However, he wasn't sure if the plan would be allowed since there were so many things involved at various levels.
"I wasn't sure if Auckland Airport would go for it, but I was delighted they said yes to making my dream proposal become a reality," he said.
CNN said Mr Chhabra cold-called and sent LinkedIn messages to any airport messages he could find. But various layers of airport protocol proved to be a challenge.
He finally connected with Laura Platts, the communications manager at Auckland airport. She helped Mr Chhabra organise logistics, like cake, flowers and their families to the airport.
The entire proposal was filmed by professional crew and posted on the airport's social media handles.
Mr Chhabra said it took a month to prepare for the big day.
Ms Shukla faced a lot of issues that day. First, her flight was rescheduled on August 18. And she nearly missed it because of traffic.
When she landed in Auckland, Ms Shukla realised that her luggage hadn't arrived. She decided to go to the service counter to complain but her family members kept calling asking her to forget about the bag and come out to meet them.
And when she did, she saw Mr Chhabra on one knee, with loved ones behind him holding up signs spelling out "will you marry me?" as his pre-recorded proposal played over the PA system.
"I was under shock," Ms Shukla told CNN.
"I tend to get lost in his eyes and as romantic as this sounds, it's actually true. I do. For a while, it just felt like it was just us. Then, all of our family and friends came and they all hugged us. It was pretty magical," she added.
The couple plan to wed in India.
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