Suzanne & Daniel | Surprise Proposal!

This is a throwback from summer 2015 and still one of my most memorable photography experiences.  My friend Daniel had asked me to secretly capture his proposal to his girlfriend Suzanne!  We plotted for several weeks and even scoped out the location a week in advance.  Daniel chose Back Bay Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach which I quickly learned was going to be a stunning backdrop for their engagement story!  I was nervous for him as many pieces had to fall in to place to successfully pull off his secret proposal.  He created an elaborate plan to be able to get her there and be dressed for photos without her becoming suspicious.  The ploy was that they were going to a friend’s house for dinner and the friend was running late, so they would stop off at the beach to kill time.

The BIG day arrived and my adrenaline was pumping!  Suzanne knows me, so I had to go into stealth mode to pull off my part of the plan!  I arrived at 6pm in place on the sand as a convincing beachgoer.  Equipped with my beach umbrella, giant sunhat, swimsuit pullover, sunglasses, and a novel, I was ready!  About 20 minutes later, Daniel and Suzanne came up over the dunes to make their way towards the shore and walked in my direction.  I pulled my camera out of my beach bag and snapped away as Daniel stopped Suzanne by the water and asked her to marry him!! She said YES!!  Before she could even process what just happened, Daniel then pointed me out adding shock and disbelief to the gamut of her emotions.  There were plenty of tears and laughter as we all rejoiced in their engagement!  After some composure, we went straight into engagement session mode to capture this chapter of lives.

They married October 15, 2016 and I was honored to be able to photograph their special day.  Love this couple!!

 

Suzanne is completely unaware of what’s about to unfold..

They pause to take in the view…

Suzanne is oblivious as Daniel subtly grabs the ring from his pocket.

As he gets down on one knee, Suzanne thought he was playing around!  lol.  

Reality hits.   

She says yes!

My cover has been revealed.  🙂