A Real-Life 'Cinema': One Man's Elaborate Flash Mob Proposal
Tina Le, 26, became excited when she saw a group of young girls starting a flash mob at the San Jose, Calif., mall where she was shopping.
"I'm obsessed with flash mobs and 'Glee' and anything musical. I thought it was just adorable. I started recording them, amazed at how good they were," Le told ABC News.
But it wasn't until the youngsters pulled her boyfriend into the crowd of dancers that Le got the surprise of a lifetime.
"I was confused at first. Is it true? Is he proposing? I didn't want to jump to conclusions," she said.
Turns out it was true. Danny Nguyen, 33, had organized and executed this elaborate flash mob to propose to the love of his life, Tina Le. He said he knew he wanted to use a flash mob for the big day but wasn't sure how to make his proposal different from all the other flash mob proposals out there. That's where the little girls come in.
"Me and Tina are very fond of kids. We think they're adorable. So I figured, what a great way to do this. I can use kids to perform," Nguyen explained.
So where did he wrangle together all the pint-size performers? From a dance studio called Hip Hop Craze, to which a friend and mother of one of the girls referred him.
Nguyen said he'd been planning the proposal for a good three months before he actually popped the question. But don't be fooled by his smooth moves in the video. He practiced with the girls only one time before the big day. He couldn't keep coming up with excuses to be away from Le, so he had them record the dance and send it to his phone for him to learn on his own.
He'd sneak away to practice whenever he could. His favorite line was "Oh, I have to go the bathroom, honey!" Now that's dedication.
Surprisingly enough, Nguyen wasn't nervous at all about performing the flash mob, or even proposing. The ring was the only thing that made him nervous. Imagine his panic when he opened the box for the big reveal, only to realize his worst fear was coming true. The ring was missing.
"Wow, you don't understand. My whole life just flat-lined. My heart stopped. I felt my stomach go up in my throat, it was so horrible. The only thing going through my head was oh my God, I'm so screwed," Nguyen said.
But after a brief moment he claimed felt like an eternity, he found the rock.
"I dug so deep into those pockets. I found something round and just pulled it out, and then the relief was just incredible. I needed to catch some air. My heart was beating so hard. I was speechless. "
Nguyen eventually calmed down enough to hear Le's response (Yes!) and slipped the ring on her finger.
He was thrilled he pulled it off (almost) without a hitch. He told ABC News the most important moment for him throughout the entire proposal, aside from Le agreeing to be his bride, was the last song he played in the flash mob before he popped the question. He had to include "Cinema" by Benny Benassi.
"That was the song Tina dedicated to me when she first heard it. I told the girls they don't need to dance during this one. They just need to look cute. Bob their heads, listen to the song, and just look at her like she's in a movie," he explained.
His proposal definitely made her feel like the leading lady. And thanks to their close friend Chris Sithi, they have the whole moment caught on camera.
To see the full video by Chris Sithi of Spleeny Films, click here.
