Moreton Island Marriage Proposal

Alex and Olivia’s Moreton Island Proposal

Special milestones in life deserve a celebration. Whether it’s a significant birthday or wedding anniversary, it wouldn’t feel right to let these occasions slip by without a dash of indulgence.

And when it comes to proposals there is nothing more romantic than a tropical island escape to Tangalooma Island Resort.

Alex recently proposed at Honeymoon Bay, so we asked for the inside scoop on his proposal plans to surprise his girlfriend Olivia, and how he planned the perfect moment to get down on one knee.

What made you pick Tangaloooma and Moreton Island for your proposal?

Olivia and I had a whirlwind 3 years of dating with little time for holidays away together. So when I started planning the proposal I knew I wanted our engagement to be a relaxing weekend where we could enjoy the moment and make it memorable. With her love of sand and the ocean, a beach location was key and with Tangalooma being so close to Brisbane and having so much to offer it was the obvious choice.

Was there any significance to the area for you and Olivia? Had you been to Moreton Island before?

We had fortunately visited Moreton Island once for work, which allowed me to check out locations like Honeymoon Bay and other spots around the island. While I didn’t get to enjoy it in a social capacity, I did get a great taste of everything Tangalooma had to offer. We had perfect weather, an awesome dolphin feed experience, ripped around on quad bikes and had the most incredible sunset over the wrecks. That pretty much got the wheels in motion for the engagement weekend!

How did you get to Honeymoon Bay? What made you pick there for your big moment?

Surrounded by the Champagne Pools and lighthouse lookout, Honeymoon Bay was always a strong front-runner for getting down on one knee! But what drew me to it more than anything was the privacy and seclusion of the beach, which would give us time to soak up the moment. Although it has to be said that a sunset over the wrecks the night before did come close but not surprisingly that spot was a bit too popular.

Honeymoon Bay definitely isn’t the most accessible, which is what made it the perfect proposal spot. Just like any person about to propose the biggest cause for anxiety was certainly ring transport. Fortunately we have some great friends who I let in on my plan and they kindly lent us (me) their 4x4 so I could comfortably hide and transport the goods from home to Honeymoon Bay.

Did you encounter any complications along the way?

The wife loves telling this story because she thinks it’s hilarious – this guy, not so much. We left the resort early Saturday morning because I wanted to get to Honeymoon Bay early enough to have the luxury of a private beach. (The truth is I was nervous enough without an audience). As a relatively inexperienced four-wheel driver I was already stressing about tide times and getting stuck let alone the nerves of an imminent proposal. I like to think I appeared calm and collected but Olivia assures me that was not the vibe I was putting out. Just when my stress levels were peaking, I could see a huge storm brewing up the north end of the Island as we’re cruising up the Eastern beach. A super-cell that battered Brisbane that night and caused flash flooding.

I just thought to myself, “Why didn’t I do this last night when the conditions were perfect?” Meanwhile Olivia who enjoys thinking out loud was saying, “Why are you getting so stressed out, we’re on holiday!” But by some miracle, as we got to Honeymoon Bay the clouds parted and we had the most incredible conditions and a beach all to ourselves. It was truly perfect.

Looking back now, I can laugh about it but during the morning of the big question this was no laughing matter.

How did you hide the ring?

As a videographer, I take my camera with me pretty much everywhere we go and it’s probably the only item I own that Olivia won’t go near. We always love taking photos on holiday to capture memories so I knew a lens case was the safest and sneakiest option for transporting the ring and keeping it sand free. Although the grip was pretty strong when I took it out of the box!!

How did you spend the rest of your time at Tangalooma Island Resort?

Having enjoyed a variety of resort activities before and already being on an engagement high we enjoyed a lot of time just relaxing around the resort, swimming around the wrecks and soaking up the sunset on our beach villa balcony.

Do you have any tips for anyone planning their special proposal at Tangalooma?

If you’re getting engaged at Tangalooma or anywhere on Moreton Island for that matter, you really can’t go wrong! That being said, preparation is key and you’re kind of spoilt for choice with activities so plan ahead because the schedule can get full pretty quickly. GOOD LUCK!