Last Spring, Neil reached out to me after finding my photos online as he wanted to plan a surprise proposal to his girlfriend Larissa! I was so excited and honored to help him plan and capture this moment. What I loved most was that he planned to make this happen at the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston — one of my favorite places! The both of them had never visited South Carolina, so this was extra sweet! We went during the most gorgeous time of the year when the azaleas were in full bloom! I could have spent hours there.

We communicated over the weeks to coordinate the time of arrival and where exactly they would be strolling the gardens the moment he would pop the question. This was exciting to plan, and I felt like a spy as I got to map out an approximate area where we would all meet without exposing the surprise moment. I finally decided on the bridge as it was the easiest landmark to meet at. My mom went with me during this shoot as she loves Charleston too, and I had her act as ‘tourist’ point of contact to mark our spot. To avoid suspicion, I never texted Neil, but instead emailed him the entire time so that his then girlfriend wouldn’t find out about the surprise proposal happening. When we got the gardens, we actually lost reception, so every email communication I sent to alert where we were arrived in just the perfect timing. Next, he found where we were nearby the bridge as we proceeded to act as tourists, then he asked my mom if she could use his phone to take a photo of the two of them. I came beside her with my camera and made myself ready for their moment. It worked perfectly as he got down on his knee at the bridge!

I was so honored to be contacted to document this magical sweet moment, and these kind of things are what make me LOVE my job even more. What a blessing! Oh, and she said yes! Here are some of my favorites from this sunny Spring day: