Planning a Surprise Marriage Proposal | Stephen + Taylor at Reynolda Gardens

Having proposals photographed have become a very popular thing! It’s so fun looking at the photos afterwards and seeing all the emotions and each others reactions. Personally, that’s my favorite part! But planning a surprise marriage proposal for your significant other can pretty nerve-racking. There is so much to think about! One thing I can promise you is that you’ll never regret getting those moments captured by a professional photographer!

Reach out to a photographer so that you can remember this moment forever.

When planning a surprise engagement proposal, the first thing you need to do it is reach out to a local photographer. Most of my proposal inquiries come through at least a month in advance, so keep that in mind.

Next, you need to pick an exact location and time for the proposal.

When I plan photography for proposals, we often start with the exact location they are planning on proposing at. Giving the name of a generic park or bridge isn’t specific enough. To ensure that everything stays a surprise, I need to get to the location early and place myself in the best possible spot for photos. Once you arrive together, I don’t want to be moving around too much. So having an exact location and arrival time in mind is best.

Communication is key.

When the day comes, keep your photographer in the loop on everything you have planned leading up to the proposal. Tell them if you have dinner reservations beforehand, what time you leave the restaurant, what clothes you’ll be wearing so you’re easily spotted, everything! I once had the groom put my name in his phone under a familiar name to the bride as to not raise red flags with the amount of time he spent texting me! HAHA! Whatever works.

The actual “getting engaged” moment might be the most nerve-racking part.

After all the planning, the moment has arrived! I’m in position and I capture (very discreetly) everything leading up to and then the actual proposal, and it’s MAGICAL! So glad you chose to have these moment documented!

A mini portrait session afterwards is always really fun!

After the “getting engaged” moment, I’ll give you both a moment to soak in everything before walking up and expressing my congratulations! I always like to take 5-10 minutes afterwards to do a mini portrait session to celebrate the moment. It’s so fun for me to see all the excitement in your faces during this time!

And there you have it! If you’d like to have your proposal photographed, send this article to your significant other so that they can start planning ;)