Romance often takes the scenic route, and for one Cairns romantic, it took a surprise detour – complete with an unexpected guest star.
Earlier this month, a man carefully arranged a dreamy marriage proposal along The Esplanade, complete with fairy-lit trees and a glowing “Will You Marry Me?” sign.
But as he and his partner approached, they discovered another couple already using the set-up to stage their own engagement.
On Tuesday, Melbourne events coordinator Emma Bouboulis recounted the scene on Sunrise.
“We’ve planned hundreds of proposals, but this is definitely a first for us,” Bouboulis told hosts Nat Barr and Matt Shirvington.
“We’re out in Cairns, we had a beautiful setup.
“The couple has arrived, he messaged me and said: ‘Hey, we are walking over right now’, we go to walk away from the set-up and film the couple’s arrival. Our focus is on them.
“We’re filming the couple. The groom turns around, looks at us, and gives us a strange look. We’re like, ‘what’s going on here?’ and we look over to the set up and there’s another person proposing to their partner there.”
In a twist fit for reality TV, the bride being proposed to had absolutely no idea – thanks to some strategic planning.
“Luckily, she was blindfolded or she would have seen all this unfold,” Bouboulis said.
Caught off guard, Bouboulis and her team had to move quickly.
“We tell them to wait, we run over to the other couple, he’s got a ring and everything.
“We’re shocked.
“We’re telling him: ‘We’re so sorry, this set-up is actually for the couple over there’”.
The quick-thinking organiser didn’t stop for small talk.
“I‘m assuming he had a ring in his pocket, he’s going down to the Esplanade to propose.
“He’s seen this beautiful set up all by itself. Then he’s just taken the opportunity.”
The accidental proposer had simply stumbled upon the fairy lights and assumed it was a free-for-all.
But despite the mix-up, the evening wasn’t a complete disaster – just a curveball with a happy ending.
“Once we got them to move on, the couple arrived and it went perfectly.
“I think they were happy afterwards. Bit of a plot twist.” She joked.
And in the end, both hopeful grooms got the answer they were hoping for.
She confirmed both men got a ‘yes’, from their soon-to-be brides.
A TikTok of the incident has since racked up more than 150,000 views, with others chiming in to share their own proposal mishaps.
“My husband organised a beachside private dining in Vietnam and when we arrived there was some random couple sitting there taking photos,” one person wrote.
“I’d be so embarrassed if I was the other girl,” another person commented.
“Wouldn’t leave that unattended anyway. anyone can come break, steal or propose their set,” a third added.
Images: TikTok
