Last Friday , Miss Wu Wai Teng went to Marina Bay Sands (MBS) thinking that she was going to watch a friend propose to his girlfriend with a flash mob.

And there was a marriage proposal, just as she expected - but it was to her.

Her boyfriend, Mr Charlie Chow, 28, who was the one behind the ruse, popped the question after he joined in the dancing flash mob.

"I was so shocked. I still am," said Miss Wu, 20.

Mr Chow is not alone in making a seemingly private issue a very public one.

Wedding planners The New Paper spoke to said they have noticed more young men choosing elaborate ways to pop the question.

"Couples come in and they talk about their proposals," said Mr Gordon Ang, who is the director of Wedding Matters.

There have been a few high-profile cases of flamboyant public proposals in recent times.

The rise in such proposals could also be because of exposure to ideas from sources such as YouTube.

Said Mr Ang: "Thanks to new media, Singaporeans get ideas from people from all over the world for their wedding proposals."

Mr Chow, who works in sales, said his proposal was inspired by a YouTube video he saw.

In it, a man proposes to his girlfriend in a theme park after joining a flash mob involving about a dozen dancers.

'Important announcement'

Miss Wu, who works as a campaign specialist, had received a message telling her that a friend had an "important announcement" to make.

It also requested her presence in front of the ArtScience Museum at MBS.

She then accompanied her boyfriend of three years to the museum to witness the event.

She said: "When we walked out of the mall, a flash mob started dancing and I was surprised when they pulled Charlie into their midst."

Mr Chow then danced to the beat of the Bruno Mars song, Marry You, much to MissWu's surprise and delight.

What she was unaware of was that he had been practising since the beginning of February to perfect those moves.

Miss Wu added: "He is not the dancing type of person. I was wondering where he got all those moves."

The back-up flash mob dancers and the music were provided by MBS.

An MBS spokesman said that even though the place has been the backdrop for many wedding proposals, the use of a flash mob for such an occasion was a first.

Then Mr Chow got down on one knee and proposed.

"Even though I was 99.9 per cent sure that she was going to say yes, I was still extremely nervous and excited," said Mr Chow.

He guarded the secret so fiercely that only three friends knew of his novel proposal plan.

Indeed, Miss Wu was upset with him for not spending time with her, as during the week leading up to the proposal, he had practised almost everyday.

She said: "Before the proposal, we had got into an argument about him neglecting me and being too absorbed with his 'special project'."

Wedding planners said flashy proposals like Mr Chow's tend to appeal to younger couples.

Ms Kim Tay, director at The Wedding Mansion and The Wedding Concierge, said it is usually those in their 20s who come up with innovative proposals.

She added: "You don't see this kind of big expressions of love in couples who are in their 30s or 40s. They have a more mature and mellow way of doing it."

However, while the number of elaborate proposals are growing, wedding planners said the numbers are still small.

Wedding Matters' Mr Ang said: "Even though we see more of these kinds of proposals recently, my educated guess would be nine out of 10 still prefer a private, more romantic, setting."

This is probably because most people prefer to keep their proposals a low-key event rather than make it a public spectacle.

Other innovative proposals:

Malaysian couple Timothy Tiah and Audrey Ooi

Timothy Tiah, an entrepreneur, proposed to his girlfriend of three years at an Italian restaurant in Kuala Lumpur last November.

Three hidden cameras captured the reactions of MsOoi, who was dining with three friends.

Mr Tiah stood outside the restaurant looking through the window.

The "candid camera" set-up captured his nervousness too, as he flashed cue cards leading to his proposal.

After she got teary-eyed and accepted his proposal, he entered the restaurant and got down on one knee with a ring and a bouquet.

Singaporean couple Tracy and Adam

On Dec 11 last year, a group of more than 80 dancers were involved in a flash mob marriage proposal at The Singapore Flyer.

They danced to the beat of Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" and Mcfly's "It's All About You".

Singapore blogger Xiaxue and US boyfriend Mike Sayre

On Dec 11, 2009, American engineer Mike Sayre popped the question at a movie screening of the film, Couples Retreat, to his girlfriend of three years, blogger Wendy Cheng, better known as Xiaxue.

He had an advertisement made for the proposal in which he appeared.

The ad was screened before the movie, with Mr Sayre appearing at the end telling the audience he had found the person that he loved.

He then got down on one knee and proposed, much to the surprise of Ms Cheng and other movie-goers.

This article was first published in The New Paper.