The memes have been made about the most cliché day of the year, the singles have established that they would like a break from the cringe and romance that comes with the day, the couples have planned their mushy gifts and romantic dates, and the mood is set for Valentine’s Day. We thought what better to contribute to the love in the air than by asking people to tell us about their fairytale proposal stories. Be warned, there’s quirk, and mush and romance. Grab your box of tissues!

250 letters sealed the deal! A story for long-distance lovers on Valentine’s Day

Rughved and Mrunalee went to the same school in Mumbai but never really knew each other and had never spoken, until on October 19 2013, when Mrunalee says she saw “a super charming boy” on Facebook with whom she had a number of mutual friends. “I sent him a friend request out of curiosity,” she says, adding that this was unlike her to add guys to her friend list.

Rughved was in Canada at the time, while Mrunalee was in Mumbai. “We met online, started talking, figured we have lots in common and didn't realize when we fell for each other. My family didn't know about us and they had already begun nagging me to meet guys.”

*Disclaimer: Grand gesture ahead*

“This was the time when Rughved wrote me 250 pages of letters! He wrote them, instead of typing them out. He went all old school as he knew I'd love that. Each letter is so close to my heart. This was a grand proposal from him and those letters made me say YES! to him.”

“If and when you find your person, hold them super tight because they are priceless and meant to be.” - Mrunalee and Rughved

Cut to the part when the couple did finally meet, Rughved went down on one knee and proposed with a ring. “It was a dream, for sure. But for me, the letters are more precious.”

The couple survived a four-year long-distance relationship. “It was truly tough. We had our breakdowns, break ups and fights, but could never part ways. Now, we're happily married and having a blast. Every time we fight, we always have a reason to come back, because we know what we've sacrificed for our relationship.”

A filmy proposal for the record this Valentine’s Day!

Avani Awasthee’s proposal story will certainly get the cliche side of you in a tizzy. It was a month before the engagement could take place and Avani was clear that she did not want any grand gestures of the sort. “On the day of the proposal, I was sent to my in-law's place to spend the day with them, while everyone else had left. At around 4.30 in the evening, Adwait blindfolded me and got me into the car. I had no clue what was happening.”

When the blindfold was opened, Avani was in her own room at home, looking at a beautiful red dress that had been laid on the bed. “It had a post-it saying ‘wear me’ written on it. I was told I had 15 minutes to get ready and set to go, and I did!”

Adwait then took her to the terrace, still blindfolded and once there, Avani was surprised to see all their friends with a beautiful set-up, but just then it started to drizzle!

“In spite of the drizzle, the most beautiful moment of my life happened right there. It started with me sitting down and watching Adwait starting to groove on Chunari Chunari. The Bollywood buff in me couldn’t believe this as Adwait is someone who never dances! From changing outfits to switching songs, he did it all. When I thought things couldn’t get any more surprising, he finally went down on his knees with a ring and proposed.”

He popped the question at a Christmas market in Germany!

“I knew she was the one even when I was only 11,” says Suket as he recounts how he’d wait at the window every morning before school just to catch a glimpse of Tejaswi. “She’s always been my biggest dream, so it’s only fair I gave her hers.”

When Suket wanted to propose, he looked all over social media as he wanted to make Tejaswi’s dream come true. She’d always wanted to see a Christmas market, and since Germany had the best ones, he planned to make it happen. “To our delight, nobody on record seems to have proposed at a German Christmas market in Cologne before. The setting just seemed too perfect and unreal. It was everything I wanted her to have.”

Thus began the surprise. Tickets to Germany, a heart-shaped ring engraved with the date, a scroll saying “Tejaswi will you marry me?” and a T-shirt that had a caption “Meri Teja idhar hai”

“I was too nervous but she didn’t know it. She was just blown away. It was our first ever international trip together. I’d asked the staff at the hotel to decorate the bed with rose petals and fairy lights. I wanted her first reaction to be wow!”

“There’s just so much pure love and respect and gratitude for one another at this point, it’s the best time of our lives and I intend to live it up completely. Who said love can’t last forever?” - Suket and Tejaswi

On the third day of the trip, the couple went to a Christmas market in Cologne and there were more than 500 people present. With sweaty hands and a nervous demeanour, Suket mustered the courage to do something spontaneous. “I’d been carrying the ring in my pocket all the days of the trip, just looking for the perfect moment. So I was prepared 100% of the time. I jumped onto the stage, took the mic from the band and said I have a question for Tejaswi and then I pulled out a scroll that asked her if she would marry me?”

“The crowd cheered on so loudly as she came onto the stage and obviously I went down on my knee, asked for her hand and that was it. I also surprised her by opening my jacket zipper since I was wearing a T-shirt that now read “Meri Teja idhar hai”,” continues Suket, saying that this was the happiest he’s ever seen Tejaswi. “She cried because it was so overwhelming and then I whisked her away to Berlin just to have some quality time before we returned to our excited friends and family circle.”

A saga of proposals!

“Karan’s proposal was honest and real, sans the grand, over the top gestures and that was what made it all the more special for me.” The couple had been friends for around 8 years and they’d hang out often and chill. Rupal recounts how one day, right in the middle of a meeting, she got a text from Karan saying he wants to get married to her!

Thinking it was a prank, Rupal dismissed the message. However, Karan persisted saying he was very serious about what he’d said. “I then asked him how was it without us even dating, he straight up asked me for marriage, to which he replied that he’d known me for 8 years and he did not want to waste another minute. He said I was the only one he saw as his partner and was certain he saw me by his side for the rest of his life. He then asked me to let him know my answer.”

“I walked out of the meeting shell shocked, processed what had just happened, and then gave him my answer: NO.”

Did Karan back down? Absolutely not. Over the next two years, he kept at it, proposing to Rupal, saying he knew she was the one for him. “He didn’t stop at proposing to me, but even went out with my family, and proposed to them too! Everyone loved and adored him and then the next thing I knew was my family was proposing to me on his behalf.”

After a couple of years, Rupal realised that it was Karan, the guy who’d been with her through ups and downs, that she wanted to spend her life with. Now it was her turn to pop the question! “Just as random as his proposal was, I told him ‘I want to marry you too’.”

A night before the wedding, Rupal went down on one knee! “Karan had done his bit a hundred thousand times and now it was my turn!”