Why not propose in Paris?
Paris, the city of love - what woman wouldn't go weak at the idea of a marriage proposal beside the Eiffel Tower or cruising down the River Seine? That's the premise on which Frenchman Nicolas Garreau has built his flourishing business, ApoteoSurprise. Its focus is to organise the perfect - and often very elaborate - proposal in Paris. "I discovered a survey which indicated 80 per cent of women were dissatisfied by their marriage proposal," he said. He went to work to come up with a business plan to address that high level of dissatisfaction. "Six million lovers are coming here each year so I decided to creat a company to help men who come to Paris make a big romantic surprise for their sweetheart," he said. Mr Garreau, who is 30, ans lives in Paris, opened his agency in January 2006. "I rely on my own intuition because I am very romantic but I also involve socio-psychologists who know ho the emotion of love works." He now has about 30 knee-buckling scenarios to thrill any proposal recipiend including : an aircraf displaying the marriage proposal on its wings while flying over the Chateau de Versailles, a spectacular projection of the message of love at the base of the Eiffel Tower, one thousand red roses raining down on the couple during a luxury cruise on the Seine. He said last year he was averaging between three and five proposals a week with a 100 per cent success rate. "I'm doing my best to get a big 'yes' for each client," Mr Garreau said. He admits that the secret to his success is his girlfriend who likes to sample each new scenario. However, that comes at a price. "It puts me under pressure because now, she wants a very creative marriage proposal and I don't know what I'll do for her," he says with a mock frown. For those willing to travel to the land of love to impress, Mr Garreau's website is: www.proposeinparis.com.
Michele Tydd
