I love photographing proposals. It’s so exciting to be there at the beginning of a couple’s wedding story, so when I get asked to capture one, I’ll always do it.
Michael reached out from afar. He was planning to take his girlfriend, Ashley, up to San Francisco to celebrate their five year anniversary and wanted to propose. He was specifically interested in Palace of Fine Arts. Since I hadn’t shot there before, I offered to do a site visit a week ahead of time so I could get a lay of the land and have a contingency plan if the weather didn’t cooperate. I drew out a map, laid out a plan, and it went so smoothly. Day of we began sharing our locations through our iPhone. I got to the spot half an hour early and was able to find a quiet back up nook because the grounds were crazy busy and it wouldn’t have been ideal to utilize our original backdrop.
Michael told her they were attending a cocktail event at the theater before going to their anniversary dinner which was brilliant. As I sat on a park bench, cameras hidden in my jacket, I saw them approach. Michael pulled her off the path into the grass and dropped to his knee. After she said yes, I introduced myself, congratulated them, and took them on a walk around the beautiful grounds and across the street to the beach overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. It was perfect.
