WHEN hospice nurse Florence Ling Liping, 23, stepped into the Windmill Room at the Singapore Biennale in City Hall yesterday evening, she thought she would be watching a video presentation of yet another art exhibition.

What she saw instead was a marriage proposal in the form of a slide presentation from her boyfriend, trainee teacher Chui Kiam Ming, 27.

Going down on one knee, Mr Chui presented her with a $3,000 diamond ring. Though speechless at first, she eventually said 'yes'.

'I didn't expect this at all, I never thought my boyfriend would do something like this,' she gushed.

The choice of venue was apt - love first blossomed between the two at the inaugural Singapore Biennale art show exactly two years ago.

Mr Chui said: 'We had our first date on Nov 2, 2006, at the Singapore Biennale, so it's both a special date and special event for us.'

He approached the Biennale organiser, National Arts Council, with his idea and the council was only too glad to arrange the special occasion for the lovebirds, giving them the privacy of the children's exhibition room and even providing balloons and flowers.

The pair spent two hours viewing the other exhibits at the venue before Mr Chui steered Miss Ling to the Windmill Room.

He feigned a need to use the restroom and left her alone in the room to view the presentation, for which he had stayed up until 3am the night before to prepare.

Towards the end of the slideshow, he stepped back in with the ring and flowers just as the big question popped up on the screen: 'Will you marry me?'

The couple do not plan to tie the nuptial knot any time soon, though.

'We may not be holding the wedding so soon, maybe in another year or two. But I can't miss out this chance to propose now because the Biennale takes place only once every two years,' said Mr Chui.

In the meantime, they have the option of celebrating their engagement at one of the world's top romantic spots - the Taj Mahal in India.

Jet Airways, one of the sponsors of the Biennale, has sponsored flight tickets and accommodations worth a total of $4,000 to New Delhi.

They also received a pair of Singapore Flyer tickets from the arts council.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Nov 2, 2008.