KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: The sky was literally the “limit” when it came to Andrew Michael Kho’s marriage proposal to his long-time girlfriend.

The 28-year-old regional service manager had taken the opportunity of a trip he won to experience “zero gravity” at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to surprise her with a proposal.

His girlfriend Lim Sze May, 26 had no idea what Kho’s plans were until he popped the question to her while they were floating weightlessly around.

“Proposing in zero gravity felt weightless. It’s like my heart was floating around, like it is now,” Kho said after marrying Lim at a mass wedding at the Maha Vihara Temple in Brickfields yesterday.

Kho and Lim were among the 56 couples who took advantage of the auspicious date of 09-09-09 to tie the knot.

Software developer Eric Wong, 28, made use of the social networking site Facebook in his proposal to girlfriend Vivien Hew, 25.

“We chose this date because nine symbolises eternity,” Hew said.

Another couple Wong Soon Tat and Chong Siew Foong, who also used the Internet for their marriage proposal, said they chose this date because the number nine had appeared so many times in their life.

They had been dating for nine years since Form Six while Wong’s car licence plate bore two nines. The registration fee for the event was RM99.

Thirty-four couples from China were married in a lavish Malay wedding reception at the First World Hotel in Genting Highlands.

Dressed in their traditional Malay wedding attire and accompanied by a kompang troupe, the couples took their turns bersanding on the dais and being sprinkled by scented water in the merenjis ritual.

They were also entertained with traditional Malay performances.

He Jia Ying and his wife, Zhao Li Ming, both 26, were very impressed with the traditional attire that they were given to wear.

“Everything is new to us. The baju kebaya looks very beautiful and the ceremony was very interesting,” said Zhao, who planned to return to Malaysia.

All the couples were on a seven-day wedding package that included photo sessions at various locations in Genting Highlands and a stay at Pulau Redang.

Among the nine couples who exchanged their vows 421m above the ground at Menara KL’s open deck were Hanson Chai and Tracylyn Liew.

Having dated for nine years, there was no better time than yesterday for them to take the plunge.

“I wanted to give my wife a surprise and I planned my marriage proposal and arrangements all along without telling her,” said Chai.

He chose the peak of Mount Kinabalu during a climbing trip to propose to Liew.

“I like heights and open spaces,” said Chai, 25, who paid RM7,999 for the wedding package at the tower.

Liew, 23, a health and beauty consultant said she was caught by surprise and cried when Chai proposed to her on July 14.

Chai, who is in the water filter business, said the number nine was auspicious as it meant “long lasting” in Mandarin and many Chinese dialects.

In the evening, a helicopter circled around Menara KL and took pictures of the couples and their guests waving from the tower.

Menara KL chief executive officer Datuk Zulkifli Mohamad said a wedding for 10 couples would be organised next year on 10.10.10. -The Star/ANN