‘I took a year to plan the proposal’: Groom’s extraordinary wedding proposal

It involved a covert trip across the country, 12 months of planning and researching for this groom to pull of the perfect proposal.

Jane Armitstead

@JaneArmitstead

3 min read

August 23, 2022 - 3:00PM

QWeekend

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This groom spent a year planning the ultimate proposal. From the location to the ring, Andrew Nguyen wanted it all to be a surprise for his bride-to-be and partner of seven years, Katie Warner.

Andrew, who was living in Toowoomba at the time, designed the pink diamond engagement ring with a jeweller based in Perth, Linneys, mostly online before making a secret 24-hour trip to Perth to finalise the details.

The following year, he had the ring flown to Cairns, where he was then based, and pulled off the romantic proposal in front of a waterfall in the Atherton Tablelands on the weekend of Valentine’s Day in 2021.

The couple, now living on the Sunshine Coast, went for a “soft, relaxed, romantic” theme for their wedding day on February 19 this year at Preston Peak Functions in Toowoomba, in front of 70 guests.

The wedding of Katie Warner and Andrew Nguyen at Preston Peak Wines in Toowoomba. Pictures. Figtree Pictures

Tell me about the proposal.

Katie: Andrew moved to Cairns in January 2021, I was to follow three months later. He surprised me with a trip up to Cairns just two weeks after he moved. He took me to the Atherton Tablelands to stay in a beautiful treehouse in the rainforest.

Andrew: I planned the proposal a year in advance. I didn’t know where we would be (she was living in Brisbane, and I was in Toowoomba at the time). But I knew I wanted it to be a surprise. I worked with a jewellery designer (Linneys) in Perth online and over the telephone for a pink diamond engagement ring. I managed a covert 24-hour trip to Perth to finalise the ring without Katie knowing, and I then knew we would be in Cairns the next year, so I had it secretly delivered there. I picked a waterfall in the Atherton Tablelands on Valentine’s weekend and hired a photographer to surreptitiously take photos of the waterfall before our arrival.

Any unique details about your wedding?

Katie: We didn’t have a bridal table at the reception, we sat among our guests at one of the long tables. We also had a private traditional tea ceremony before the main event. It was important for us to incorporate Andrew’s Vietnamese heritage into the wedding day. The yellow dress I wore (Vietnamese Ao Dai) was a gift from Andrew’s parents. My measurements were sent to family in Vietnam and it was made at a local dress store. Red is more traditional but I wanted something bright and summery to reflect the season and location.

The wedding of Katie Warner and Andrew Nguyen at Preston Peak Wines in Toowoomba. Pictures: Figtree Pictures

What was the standout moment of the day?

Locking eyes for the first time walking down the aisle, then walking back down the aisle together through a tornado of confetti. It was an incredibly windy day, which peaked during our ceremony with wind gusts up to 56km/h. Our guests were holding down flowers, confetti flying everywhere, and my hair was knocked flat in seconds – but none of it mattered! Rain, hail, shine or cyclonic winds, nothing was going to wipe the smiles from our faces.

What would you do differently?

Eat more! We didn’t fully appreciate our carefully selected canapes as we got swept up taking photos.

What was your budget?

Our budget was around $45,000.

What would you spend more on?

A second videographer. We had one so they were only able to capture me getting ready as we were in separate locations. Secondly, we would pay extra for a ceremony and speeches reel to capture those special moments.

One thing you wish people told you about planning a wedding? How stressful and time consuming it can be. A lot of time was spent doing budgets, spreadsheets, researching suppliers, then planning meetings with those suppliers. Not to mention trawling through social media to establish a vision. We had the added challenge of planning our Toowoomba wedding while living in Cairns.

The wedding of Katie Warner and Andrew Nguyen at Preston Peak Wines in Toowoomba. Pictures: Figtree Pictures

Best advice for other couples planning a wedding? Lock in your major suppliers as soon as possible, they book out fast. Soak up the really special moments during the planning. Plan your day for you, not others.

Honeymoon? Andrew planned the entire honeymoon, I had no idea where we were going. He surprised me with a trip to a tiny island in the Maldives called Kooddoo. We were met by our own butler who took us by speedboat to our overwater villa at Raffles Maldives Meradhoo Resort. The highlight of the trip was having an entire secluded beach to ourselves for one night at sunset to watch my favourite movie (Mamma Mia), with cocktails and snacks.

What is a wedding hack you can recommend?

Find vendors that tick several boxes and also re-use the flowers from the ceremony in the reception. We saved heaps on floral arrangements!

Tell us about the cake. Our cake flavours were blackberry and lime, and orange and almond with a buttercream icing.