JB asked me to marry him a few minutes after November 11 while overlooking the Hong Kong skyline.

I had a feeling JB might propose during this vacation because he continously suggested we go to the Peak or the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade to see the city that we once called home in all its glory. We managed to find some time during the last night of our trip and as we were making our way to the waterfront I could not help but ask if he was going to propose. He cooly said “No.”

And, then it happened. I will not bore you with the details, but will say I was completely surprised even though I had quizzed him few moments earlier. My response to his question was “Ummmm, I guess sooooooo?!” And instead of being filled with complete joy, both of us commented how weird we felt and anxious of the impending task of telling our family and friends. I was surprised by my initial reaction but realized how we felt was so awkwardly us. And, I love that we were so honest about our feelings.

After telling our immediate family and friends privately, I had to figure out how I wanted to make our engagement social media official. Because if you don’t post on Instagram, did it even happen? *eye roll*

I had an idea of an animated gif that would show JB poking fun at the notion that girls are more excited about the ring than the engagement itself. You could say that I am one of these girls as I love anything sparkly, so much so that JB calls me a magpie, a bird that supposedly is attracted to shiny things. I picked up a gaudy plastic diamond ring for JB to outshine my ring and worked on figuring out what poses I wanted to capture. This incredibly simple exercise gave me a newfound appreciate for movies, which need the acting, script, sound, music, visual effects, etc to all come together to seamlessly tell a story.

Once we figured out the photo sequence, wearing the same clothes that we got engaged in, JB and I snapped away. We captured moments of sweet bliss, JB’s looks of despair while I was being my wacky self and of my eye rolls towards JB that have become trademark expressions of our relationship.

I posted this gif to my Instagram during brunch at Bedford & Co. JB and I proceeded to drink away our anxiety of everyone knowing by downing 3 bottles of prosecco. I eventually blacked out – sooooo classy, I know.

I just love how it turned out – it so perfectly reflects us as a couple, who are willing to point fun at themselves, and now can continue doing so as each other’s fiancés. Blah, I am still getting used to saying the ‘F’ word. I’ll get there…eventually.

Note: I hope you do not think I am super vain with all these similar photos of me and JB. I just really wanted to show all the pictures that made up the animation. (˘･ᴗ･˘)