I was walking my blindfolded girlfriend to my secret proposal set-up when I noticed something was terribly wrong
An engagement planner has shared the gobsmacking moment when another couple tried to hijack a carefully planned proposal.
Melbourne events coordinator Emma recounted how a recent proposal set-up arranged for a client was nearly derailed by an ‘opportunistic’ passer-by.
She had been helping a young Australian man bring to life his dream outdoor proposal in a park setting, complete with fairy-lit trees and a large illuminated ‘Will you marry me?’ sign at its centre.
However, the Aussie mum explained that things went awry when her client arrived to the proposal with his blindfolded girlfriend.
‘Once we had finished [setting up], we went back to video the client arriving at the proposal,’ Emma explained in a video shared to her TikTok account.
‘We left the setup unattended, waiting a couple of minutes for their arrival.’
As Emma filmed her client leading his blindfolded girlfriend through the park towards the designated spot, he suddenly turned to give her a puzzled look.
‘We looked over to the proposal set-up, and someone random had turned up and was proposing to their partner,’ an astonished Emma explained.
Engagement planner Emma (left) recounted how a recent proposal she’d arranged for a client was hijacked by another couple who discovered the romantic outdoor set-up
The Melbourne-based founder of Perfect Proposals said that as her client approached the proposal site with his blindfolded girlfriend, he saw another person mid-way through popping the question to his own girlfriend
Without a moment to waste, the events planner and her team rushed over to the other couple to apologetically but firmly inform them: ‘I’m so sorry, but this setup isn’t for you.’
‘We had to explain to them that they hadn’t paid for it, so they needed to leave,’ Emma said.
‘The girl looked a bit shocked.’
At that point, the ‘random’ man who’d spontaneously decided to use the proposal set-up offered an eyebrow-raising explanation.
‘He said he thought it was just “a pop-up proposal location”.’
Once Emma and her team had guided the other couple away, her client was able to resume the romantic proposal.
Emma added that the only saving grace was that the unsuspecting partner was mostly unaware of what had happened, as she was blindfolded during the confusion.
‘Luckily, the blindfolded girlfriend didn’t see any of this. They arrived at their proposal and everything went to plan,’ Emma said.
The random man who’d spontaneously decided to use the proposal set-up attempted to justify his action by saying that he thought it was just ‘a pop-up proposal location’
The experienced events planner noted that this was a first for her – and she would do everything possible to prevent it from happening again.
‘We never imagined we’d have this issue. It’s something to keep in mind for future public proposals.’
The video quickly racked up almost 150,000 views on TikTok, with viewers expressing disbelief at the awkward scenario.
‘This is WILD,’ one person commented.
‘Mid-proposal – awkward,’ added another.
‘I’d be so embarrassed if I were the other girl,’ a third remarked.
Most comments expressed shock at the audacity of the random man for presuming he could use the set-up.
‘Why did he think a pop-up proposal location was a thing?’ one reply asked.
‘He probably planned to play it off as if he’d organised it all for her,’ another mused.
‘Haha wow, what an opportunist! I’d love to know what the Mrs thought after it was shut down,’ another wrote.
But a few replies were surprised that the event planner had left the proposal site unattended.
‘You definitely need someone to monitor the set-up, or it turns into chaos,’ said one person. ‘People will want to take photos, videos, and just gather around like it’s a pop-up attraction, even if it’s meant to be a private surprise. You have to keep things moving or it’s a mess.’
Experienced wedding and events planner Emma said that the random stranger’s spontaneous use of the proposal site ‘was definitely a first for us’
Emma replied to this, explaining that they only left the outdoor proposal set-up unattended for a few minutes to film the couple’s arrival.
The newly-minted fiancée – who only later learned just how close her special moment came to being interrupted – also commented on the video to praise the organiser.
‘You did the best you could! Thank you so much for making my night so special,’ she wrote.
Emma congratulated her, assuring, ‘It was definitely a first for us!’
A few replies even suggested the Perfect Proposals businessowner may have stumbled upon a viable business idea for actual pop-up proposals.
‘You should start a pop-up proposal day,’ read one reply.
‘Open booking slots, each couple gets 45 minutes, 15 minutes between sessions, and you could run eight or ten in a day.’
‘Make bookings similar to Santa photos,’ another suggested.
