In an era of showy gestures and one night stands (not the type from IKEA, k), a conventional, old-school courtship is becoming increasingly rare.

And one particularly fascinating story was told in this month's edition of Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)'s newsletter, Rescue 995.

It started when SWO (Senior Warrant Officer) Durai Raj first met CPT (Captain) Lau Ee Ling, and decided she was "very cute at first sight".

This despite the fact that she was there to assess his performance as a trainee in the SCDF's Emergency Response Specialist Course. At their final exercise training, no less.

Unfortunately for him, Lau said she was just "focused on the assessment that day".

Afterwards, however, a course instructor approached Lau, asking if Raj could join Alexandra fire station as a section commander.

Lau agreed — but Raj didn't make any move for the first few months.

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Teddy bear & greeting card

Lau only suspected something was up when one day, they were caught in the rain, and Raj held her hand.

A few weeks later, he arranged for a teddy bear and greeting card to be sent to Lau's house for her birthday.

Throughout their years of courtship, Raj revealed that Lau has always been encouraging and there for him, even at the lowest points of his life.

Spontaneous proposal

Seven years in, Raj proposed to her spontaneously near a bus stop along Bukit Timah Road, and have now been married eight years.

Definitely a refreshing contrast to today's elaborately-staged and planned proposals, complete with multiple props, photographers, and videographers.

This year, the couple celebrates the 15th year of their relationship. Aww.

You can read their full story in the newsletter here.

Top image from SCDF's Facebook page.