by deborah
Hello, hello! I feel a little guilty for not posting anything last week – although I had good reason to (and will make it up to you with two posts this week)! A few days ago I came back from the Gold Coast along with some of my friends, where something big happened!
Let me start from the top…
One fateful night late in November of 2018, I received a phone call from one of my friends, Joshua “Osa”. He sounded nervous and excited, and I had a feeling something wonderful was about to begin..
What do you know? My intuition was correct, because he told me that he was going to propose to his girlfriend, Gloria, on their upcoming Gold Coast trip – and Marsha (my best friend) and I were graciously, secretly invited to assist in preparing everything for the big night!
What followed over the next month and a half was a series of secret meetings with our team of 7 until we had a solid plan: Marsha and I would arrive a day after everyone else. While the group were out at Sea World, we would sneak in and create a romantic, sentimental atmosphere in the apartment. Gloria would come in alone while everyone else was hiding, following a path filled with photos from their relationship. The path would lead to the television, where a video (featuring Osa in a bunny suit) retelling their story and reasons of love would play. After the video, he would come out and propose to her. Solid.
Brainstorming was fun. Ultimately we decided to go with a storybook-esque theme. We decided to include Alice in Wonderland elements to add some whimsy, since we also knew that Gloria was fond of the aesthetic.
An old hymn book from a thrift store 
Sanded the original title off and gave it a fresh coat of paint 
Inked their names in gold 
Hollowed out a place for the ring! The page I started carving had the hymn “Gloria” on it.
Preparing for the day kept us all busy until it was finally time!
Marsha and I arrived at Gold Coast at 8:30am. We hardly slept the night before so we took a nap before proceeding with the decorations.
Our path was created with artificial vines, fairy lights, LED tea candles and a few scattered cards. It mazed through the main apartment room. 
17 roses for 17 reasons of love. Red and white to fit the Alice theme. We wanted to get Osiria roses however they were hard to track down!
(Stole this photo from Marsha hehe)
We decorated the apartment by scattering photos of their relationship alongside captions stuck in books. There were also little knickknacks placed around the photos to add to the fairytale theme.
(Thanks to Adi for the photos – preset for the following found here)
Hiding in a room, moments before the proposal.. Waiting for her to finally enter the room was the most intense part. We even had a false alarm.
The night went well and of course… She said yes!
We all went out to celebrate at Seascape Restaurant + Bar where we indulged in a three course meal.
What a lovely night! I had a lot of fun helping out and feel so honoured to be included in such an important event! Wishing the newly engaged couple all the love and joy in the world. They definitely deserve it! ❤
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our trip!
— Deborah
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