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The helicopter hauled the massive banner - the size of a basketball court - past the Ritz Carlton at the right time. Photo: Edward Wong

Meet the Hong Kong man who spent HK$400,000 to pop the big question, and she said ... ?

A six-figure budget, a dramatic helicopter ride, sky-high action from the tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong and a 10-minute window to make the deal of a lifetime: the mission possible of a Hong Kong man spending almost HK$400,000 to propose to his girlfriend

Lana Lam

It had all the makings of a Hollywood action thriller: a six-figure budget, a dramatic helicopter ride, sky-high action from the tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong and a 10-minute window to make the deal of a lifetime.

But this mission impossible was no blockbuster movie, but a Hong Kong man spending close to HK$400,000 to propose to his girlfriend.

"I'm so surprised, I didn't expect that it would happen today because before, I always chased him to propose but he just said 'maybe November or December" so this was totally beyond my expectations," a teary Stephanie Cheung, 30, said yesterday, just minutes after saying yes to the big question.

READ MORE: Uber Chopper takes to the skies of Hong Kong, with rides for HK$1,800 a pop

For Victor Tang, 37, it was the perfect end to months of secretly planning the elaborate proposal to Cheung, who also works for Hutchison Global Communications.

First, he went shopping for a 1.5-carat diamond engagement ring that cost more than HK$200,000. Then he booked the couple into a HK$26,000 corner suite at the Ritz-Carlton more than 100 floors up in the ICC in West Kowloon, with sweeping views of Victoria Harbour.

Watch: Hong Kong man spends HK$400,000 on helicopter wedding proposal and more

This was followed by the HK$150,000 helicopter flight, which went past the hotel room at precisely the right time pulling a massive banner - 15 metres tall and 30 metres long, or the size of a basketball court - with the words: "I love you! Stephanie BB, will you marry me?"

And to top it all off, he spent another HK$15,000 for a video crew to capture the event.

"She doesn't like typical proposals," Tang said of his girlfriend of just over one year, so he ruled out the idea of going down on one knee in a fancy restaurant.

"She's shy so she wanted something more private but something dramatic, exciting, not traditional."

Yesterday afternoon, after months of planning, the helicopter flying the red banner, which weighed almost 100kg, took off from Lantau.

"Some people will say it's crazy to do this, but she didn't ask for a big house or a high-class car and she doesn't always buy shoes or dresses or asks to go to fancy restaurants," Tang said. "But she wanted a memorable wedding proposal.

"I never imagined I would do something like this. I'm not a rich guy but I control my budget."

Gavin Neale, whose company HeliAds arranged the event, said as far as he knew, Tang's proposal by helicopter was a world first. Many people had used a plane to pop the question, which worked out much cheaper but was not possible in Hong Kong due to air safety rules.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Big budget to pop big question ... and she said yes
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