Berjaya Langkawi Beach & Spa Resort, 22 April 2009 - Before the wedding bells ring for Kelvin and Kimberly tomorrow, we, the media folks managed to have a face to face chat with the lucky couple this evening by the beach. 

They must be the most relaxed pre-wedding couple I’ve seen so far.  And why not, when everything is being taken care of by their generous sponsors?  “Our sponsors are very capable and we know we are in good hands,” quips Kelvin and Kimberly smiling at Ms. Thang Han-Ni, Berjaya Hotels & Resorts’ Corporate Director, Marketing & Communications.

Han-Ni replies, “We’re thoroughly thrilled to fulfil Kelvin and Kimberly’s dream of a grand beach wedding as a finale to this region’s first online wedding contest. “

Calmed by the tranquil waves and soft sea breeze and fuelled by the mood for love, we started asking mostly romantically-inclined questions – especially gleaning answers from the groom-to-be.  Being frequently busy travelling overseas for work, most of their blog entries were written by the bride-to-be.  We wanted to see what made this couple tick, their strategy for winning and most importantly, what keeps them together for so long. 

Here are their answers.  Enjoy!

How old are the both of them?

Kelvin is 27 and Kimberly is 26 years old.

What made them decide to join the Love Me Do! contest?

Kelvin proposed to Kimberly on her birthday on May last year with 17 different surprises – the first 16 led to the ultimate surprise which was the proposal itself.

Awww moment:  Kelvin says, “I wanted to make her feel on top of the world.  The 17 surprises coming so soon one after another was designed to make her feel that she is living in a fairy tale.  Most of all, I wanted her to feel special, for she is indeed special to me.”

After the ultra romantic proposal, Kimberly started researching on wedding planning tips while accompanying Kelvin who was studying for an examination in the library.  She stumbled upon some sites which talked about the Love Me Do! contest and decided that there was no harm in participating in it.  One thing led to another, and here they are, about to have the grand wedding of their dreams six months later.  Aaaaah....

They won by over 100,000 votes.  Was it all pure luck or was there some strategy involved?

Kelvin says, “It was a combination of hard work, strategy and a little bit of luck.  We worked very hard to get in the votes.  We wrote our names and the Love Me Do! website on the complimentary Love Me Do! post it notes given by Berjaya Hotels & Resorts to all participants, and dropped them in the post boxes of the flat we were staying in Singapore.” 

Hard work was also involved in the video production, blogging about their experiences and dishing out helpful tips to other couples on their blog.  Kimberly says, “Kelvin would bring his laptop to events and parties, showing their blog to his friends and associates and encouraging them to check the site out and vote for the best couple.  He is also well-known in Labuan, being the only one in the island to graduate from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – so that helped in garnering votes from the islanders who are close-knitted by nature.”  Having worked in different parts of the world meant a great network which was utilised to their number of votes.  They also made use of technology such as sms, Facebook and emails to spread awareness of the contest to friends all over the world.

The strategy part came when Kelvin (an expert in strategy, by the way) decided when and where to put in the effort and focus at the different stages of the contest.  “We don’t have to get the most votes for all the stages, you see.  So we conserved our energies and spread out of efforts to where it counts.  Basically, we juggled with the numbers depending on how many votes we need at each stage.  We do not want to bother our friends all the time to vote for us.”

They have been together for 7 years and are still very much in love.  What’s their secret of success?

Kimberly says, “A lot of hard work and respect.”

Kelvin says, “Mutual trust and a lot of communication, which required deliberate effort as most of our relationship was long-distanced due to my work and study travels.”

Awww moment: Kelvin says as he gently caressed her long hair, “Kimberly is very, very special to me.  I was at the lowest point of my life when she came.  And then my life took an upward turn and I’ve never looked back.  She was there to accompany and support me during the tough times.  I would have never be the man I am today without her.  All I have and all I am is because of Kimberly.

I make sure that I take the time to tell her how special she is to me.  The wedding is secondary, she comes first to me.”

A visibly touched and tearful Kimberly says, “Tomorrow’s a new beginning of our lives and we both look forward to it.”

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Are you in a lovey-dovey mood yet?  I sure am!  Stay tuned for live updates of the wedding this evening over at our twitter panel!

Courtesy from VirtualMalaysia.Com