Man proposes to girlfriend while paragliding

They had gone paragliding from Vien Nam mountain in the northern Hoa Binh province on April 23 when Tuan saw her fly close to him at 1,000 meters above the ground.

He whipped out a banner and flares and said loudly, “Ly, let’s get married!”

When they landed 10 minutes later he went down on his knee to propose to her.

Nguyen Anh Tuan proposes to his girlfriend in mid-air with a banner on April 23, 2022. Photo acquired by VnExpress

Everyone in the group cheered loudly when she nodded in agreement.

She said: “I was really taken aback. I didn’t expect my first paragliding experience to become an airborne proposal.”

The idea had come to him two weeks earlier.

“My fiancée has complained I am not as romantic as others’ boyfriends during our two and a half years together.”

He secretly phoned the paragliding crew to discuss and come up with a feasible plan. His only fear was that the weather could cause their trip to be canceled.

Dang Van My, 37, manager of the paragliding club in Hanoi’s Chuong My District that organized the trip, said, “However, we carefully picked a day when the weather was certain to be wonderful.”

He acknowledged he was nervous about agreeing to plan a marriage proposal in mid-air. The entire team spent a lot of time debating, coming up with a plan for two parachutes to fly close to each other and for an instructor to bring the banners and fire the flares.

“The most challenging part was allowing the two parachutes to come close to each other. Not just the couple, the crew were also holding our breath since we did not want anything to go wrong on the big day.”

The moment when Tuan knelt down before his girlfriend, Truong Le Cam Ly, to propose marriage on April 23. Photo acquired by VnExpress

The couple and their entourage drove to the mountain, 60 kilometers from Hanoi.

While she was excited about her first ever paragliding trip, Tuan was nervous, wondering how he was going to propose and worried he might forget his lines.

He frequently kept telling the instructor to hide the banner and occasionally asked if “weather conditions are suitable.”

He had hired three videographers to take photos and record the important moment, but they had to travel in a different car and pose as tourists to ensure Ly did not suspect anything.

Tuan and Ly took off at 11 a.m. with their instructors forming tag teams. The landing spot at the foot of the mountain had been fully prepared by the staff, even requesting some local children to carry banners while waiting for the parachutes to land and toss flowers to create a celebratory ambiance.

Tuan and Ly pose for a photo on top of Vien Nam mountain on April 23, 2022. Photo acquired by VnExpress

The two first met during a trip to Europe at the end of 2019.

“From the moment I met her, I was attracted to her bright and beautiful face,” he said.

Though Ly, a native of the southern Binh Thuan Province, lives 1,000 kilometers away, he makes the time and effort to visit her at least once a month.

The emergence of Covid-19 made it a long-distance relationship for six months.

The two had planned to fly to India in April, but had to revise their plans after failing to get a visa in time.

They now plan to have a betrothal in June.

Tuan plans to settle down in Binh Thuan since he can run his business from anywhere while she cannot relocate due to her job.