Ever Wonder How Those Fortune Cookie Proposals Work?

We just found out. Mind. Blown.

Newly betrothed Nigel Richards and Nicole Cashman; photo by HughE Dillon.

We’ve all either heard about them, or seen them in a movie, right? (The first one that comes to mind for me is when Chris Pratt’s character proposes to Anne Hathaway’s character in Bride Wars, but that may or may not be because I stop on it basically every time it’s on HBO.) It’s the fortune cookie proposal! The unsuspecting bride reaches for a fortune cookie after a fabulous meal of Chinese takeout, cracks it open expecting to find a profound little piece of paper inside predicting what her life will bring, and whoa. She does actually get that—just in the form of a diamond ring. (Usually, of course, with a kneeling, nervous boyfriend somewhere in the background.)

I don’t know about you ladies, but I have always wondered how on Earth that works. Surely the guys aren’t dropping off diamond rings with their neighborhood Chinese takeout joints, right? And those suckers are fried, anyway—a diamond might be able to stand up to pretty much anything, but metal certainly can’t. So what’s the deal? Seriously. These questions plague me every time it comes up.

Well, everyone, we finally have our answer, thanks to Nigel Richards, of Philly’s 611 Lifestyle record and clothing brand, who proposed to PR maven Nicole Cashman just two days before Christmas using this very method. Apparently, tricky Nigel figured out that if you microwave a fortune cookie, it becomes malleable—and so all you’ve got to do is zap it, pry it open, plop the bling inside, shape it back up and then let it cool and re-harden. And voila! You’ve got one surprised girlfriend sitting on the couch in her PJs and enjoying a fortune cookie dessert after a lovely meal of Sang Kee takeout.

Ponderings on why, exactly, it’s possible to do that with a fortune cookie aside (I mean, seriously, what is that about?), we think it’s’ a pretty fun way to propose—and one that definitely guarantees a surprise. (Or, as Nicole says, “Oh. My God. Beyond surprised.”) Besides being super pumped, the couple is trying to decide between a wedding right here in their hometown of Philly—or, possibly, far-flung nuptials in a destination locale. Either way, we wish them congratulations and happy planning!

Photo by Gerard Tomko.

Oh, and in case you hadn’t heard, in other fun Philly marital news: 6ABC reporter Brian Taff and producer Mara Webb were also recently engaged—Mara is having a ball planning so far, and has already started dressing shopping (that’s them pictured to the right)—and Coatsville’s own figure skating champ Johnny Weir (profiled here by Philly mag just a few years ago) and his boyfriend, Victor Voronov, officially tied the knot on New Year’s Eve. Apparently, they’re going to do a full-blown wedding in the summer, though—and for those pictures, dear readers, we cannot wait.

Congrats to everyone from all of us here at PW!

 

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