5 Tips for Planning a Surprise Proposal | A Photographer’s Perspective

Recently, I’ve noticed a continuous feed of Facebook posts proclaiming: “she said yes,” so I know that engagement season is here.  So I wanted to share 5 Tips for planning a surprise proposal from a marriage proposal photographer’s perspective.

1.  Hire a proposal planner like The Heart Bandits who specialize in ideating, coordinating and seamlessly executing marriage proposals.

Because there’s an element of surprise, it’s that much trickier to make sure everything goes as planned.  I’ve shot a few proposals where the person to be proposed to decided to make a last minute schedule change or decided to walk a different route or scheduled plans with friends to do something else or there’s last minute construction at the planned proposal location.  It definitely helps to build a proposal plan around a set scheduled event and notifying the key people so nothing derails your plans but also so the photographer can easily capture that special moment for you.

2.  Hire a photographer who specializes in surprise marriage proposals.

Regardless, be sure to hire someone to capture this priceless moment.  If you’re looking for.  Shooting a proposal takes tact and flexibility to skillfully capture that priceless moment at sometimes imperfect situations including during snow, rain, crowds and in dark settings.  I also shoot weddings and portraits, but shooting marriage proposals is much more of a stealth operation, knowing when to hide versus come out, what angle to shoot and what type of shot to take, but I love every moment of them.

3.  Custom tailor the proposal

Not every person will go nuts over a Madison Square Garden jumbotron proposal or a 3 carat canary diamond or an acapella proposal.  It’s important to understand your significant other to figure out how to custom tailor a proposal that they’ll love, feel comfortable and want to share with friends and family.  A few things to study about your partner months in advance include understanding what type of ring he or she would like, where to propose (public or private setting), what meaningful details & elements to incorporate in the proposal (The Heart Bandits are amazing with ideation), who’s most important to him or her and how to incorporate them and how to convince him or her to head to the proposal location.

4.  Make sure he or she looks good, especially their fingernails.

If you’re hiring a marriage proposal photographer to capture the moment and you want your significant other to happily share their proposal photographs with family and friends, be sure he or she looks great, especially the fingernails.  You spent good money on that ring, so you want them to be happy and do the he or she “put a ring on it” dance versus being concerned that their fingernails look chipped or dirty.

5.  Be sure to propose during the daytime or in a location where there’s lots of light.  

I choose not to use camera flash during the actual proposal because it takes away from the intimacy of the moment and makes it feel more like a paparazzi moment, which is why from a photographer’s perspective, I recommend that the proposer consider the time of day so that that priceless moment, her face, the ring, your expression are easily captured, easily if the moment quickly happens.  That’s another quick tip.  Take your time going down on one knee.

Feel free to post a comment letting me know if you have any other questions.