Taking the romantic grand gesture online
Expect to see more proposals in digital world as life get more virtual
The pandemic has taught us that you have to work with what you have, and that includes romance, but it doesn’t mean you can’t make a grand gesture.
Chris Lewarne, 35, a chief instructor at Barry’s in Toronto, planned on proposing to his girlfriend — who is also a fitness trainer at the gym — Karina Vee, on her 32nd birthday, in Guatemala. She was set to be hosting a retreat there and he was planning to propose following a scheduled sunrise yoga class overlooking the beach. Then COVID-19 happened. And so, he pivoted. The couple has a large social media following, both boasting over 30K followers each on their Instagram accounts. They had been co-teaching free, live classes every day at 5:30 p.m. on the Barry’s Canada Instagram live – from their living room in their Yorkville condo since isolation began. As of May, Barry’s Canada switched to Zoom classes and the couple now teach every day on the Barry’s Zoom in addition to offering Instagram Live classes Wednesdays and Fridays on @michelobultracanada, as part of a campaign to raise funds for Foodbanks Canada.
The two taught the scheduled class and near the end, the doorbell rang.
Since it was Vee’s birthday, their condo was filled with balloons and celebratory décor. Lewarne had mentioned to her earlier in the day that a present was coming from New York City and he wasn’t sure if it would arrive in time. “I didn’t want her to think I hadn’t planned anything for her, aside from the balloons,” Lewarne said.
Lewarne got the door, and came in with a huge navy box.
At first Vee thought it would be some clothes from Lululemon. But, when he told the class to stick around for a few minutes, that Vee had a few words to say, she got a hunch about what was going on.
Lewarne got on one knee, and opened the box to show the ring, an ethical lab-grown diamond ring from COUPLE Diamonds in Yorkville. “She walked off screen and I thought she was going to say no, but she didn’t want people to see her crying.”
Vee tells the Star in a call, “I was so full of emotions and so overwhelmed so I stepped away and took a big breath. I knew people would want to see me, and he started to do his big speech and I tried not to ball my eyes out. I was shy on camera. I broke down and cried at the end of the proposal and couldn’t hold it together.”
343 viewers were tuned in. “It was really me and honest — at one point I even said the F word. Someone wrote in the comments you got to put the ring on her!” While this was happening, the comment section of the live feed was blowing up. “I love that all my friends were there and everyone I knew was watching, so I found that really special. I was just shy about crying,” Vee said.
Lewarne said they met at Barry’s, so it felt fitting to pop the question with the Barry’s followers and family present. “To be really honest with you, I thought it would be tacky to do this on Instagram, but Karina is such a hub, such a glue to her friends, and community is important to both her and us.”
Before the proposal, Lewarne called Laurie Campbell, the coowner of Barry’s Canada, to ask for permission to propose to Vee over the company’s Instagram account. Her response? “If a couple can survive in a condo during quarantine, then they can survive anything.” Lewarne describes his now-fiancée (she said yes!) as a walking ray of sunshine. “I’m difficult. If Karina can survive this with me, there’s nothing I can do to scare her off.”
Almost 5,000 people viewed the proposal over the 24 hours it lived on Instagram and their students, friends, fans and followers sent gratitude for getting to be a part of the experience.
With people living virtually more than ever before, we can expect to see more engagements going digital. Last week, on the reunion for Netflix’s “Too Hot To Handle” — which was recorded over Zoom with the cast, each at their own homes — contestant Harry Jowsey, proposed to girlfriend Francesca Farago, with a Ring Pop. Farago told Variety magazine that she thought the gesture was cute, and they had talked about rings, but she thinks a proposal needs to be done in-person.
Caspar Haydar is a co-host and designer on CTV’s “I Do, ReDo.” He tells the Star that proposing digitally doesn’t diminish the sentiment. “The times have changed and I believe people are becoming more creative trying to do something so grand in a new way! The sentiment is not being diminished at all, especially during the tough times when people are proving they still want to be together no matter what is happening in the world.”
Thinking of proposing during the pandemic? Haydar doesn’t think there is one type of plan to make the “best” or “ideal” proposal. “The most important aspect of the proposal is the sentiment and the gesture itself. All you need to do is say what you feel from the heart and let them know why you love them and want to be with them through all of what happens in life,” Haydar said.
“With COVID-19 things are constantly changing and with new social distancing measures in place, I don’t doubt you can still be creative enough to alter the original plan you may have had,” Haydar said.
Franck X. Arnold, GM of The Ritz-Carlton tells the Star, “The secret to creating a memorable moment is creating a moment of surprise and delight that is unique to that person, doing something tailor-made just for them.” He says using all five senses to create their experience is important. “Make sure that you have them experience the proposal through their senses, from the texture of a beautifully wrapped gift box, the scent of a bouquet of gorgeous flowers and candles from their favourite spa, the flavours of their favourite champagne and dinner from their favourite restaurant and playing a curated song list, for example,” Arnold said.
From a hospitality standpoint, he says, the key to making someone feel special is to know what they would like before they even know they want it. “To do this, you need to think about what your partner likes and take it to the next level. Do it when they don’t expect it, the element of surprise is a wonderful thing,” Arnold said.