On Saturday the 3rd of September, local Gideon Greaves and now-fiancé Stacey Livinia Rethman start their day on an exciting note. Later on, they’ll be hosting a gender reveal party for their baby (boy) on the way, the couples’ closest friends and family will all be there.
Gideon Greaves
First though, they pop off to their local Hout Bay Market for the morning, as per weekend usual. Except, Gideon has a belly full of butterflies to keep under wraps, he’s about to propose to the woman he loves, with a flashmob in tow!
In a video made of the proposal compiled by Gideon (with clips sent by various delighted onlookers from the day) we see the couple strolling into the market before taking their seats at the cafe. The music stops for a second before coming back on – a new song is cued.
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Dancers from Waterfront Theatre School start to emerge from their hiding posts around the cafe as Bruno Mars’ ‘Marry You’ starts to play. A bewildered Stacey looks around, little Madison on the table in front of her, and Gideon with a smile as big as a rainbow (knowing what’s about to happen), all mesmerised by the dancing mob circling in on them.
Surrounded by the group of dancers like butterflies meeting the flowers in spring, Stacey realises what’s about to happen as Gideon gets on one knee to propose. The crowd in the cafe cheer and share a moment of joy as Gideon and Stacey embrace with hugs and kisses after one big “YES!” A watershed moment for all.
Gideon shared with Woman&Home’s Savanna Douglas:
“I wanted it to be something exciting and different. Growing up, you always imagine having this grand engagement but proposing out of the blue was an idea that came to me because I wanted Stacey to be surprised. If I took her up on a hot air balloon or a helicopter ride, she would have known! It still needed to be special though, so that’s how the flash mob idea came about.”
Gideon goes on to explain that Stacey has a passionate history in theatre and production. In fact, she attended the very same school, Waterfront Theatre School, as the dancers who made their engagement moment special. Stacey’s best friend, Genna, is a dance instructor at the school and helped plan the perfect moment for her friend.
“It’s a pity I didn’t film the whole thing properly. It was so interesting to see the emotions of everyone around us. There were so many happy tears! I once saw a proposal on Lion’s Head that got me emotional too, it was quite something to see it from the inside, looking out!” says Gideon.
Gideon Greaves
After celebrating their engagement and the baby’s gender reveal with loved ones, the couple went on a surprise ‘pre-honeymoon’ cruise through the Mediterranean. Stopping in Spain, France Italy and Rome. Swoon!
Gideon ends with:
“We’re excited to welcome our baby boy soon, Stacey’s the best mom in the universe.”
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Feature Image: Gideon Greaves
