Picnic Island Park Proposal // J+L

There is nothing I love more than capturing a surprise proposal. Well I guess 99% of proposals are a surprise but that’s beside the point. I get so excited knowing something major is about to go down and I have a small part in not only making that happen but capturing it too. Julien contacted me to help him execute his Picnic Island Park proposal to Lorena. Julien wanted to make sure Lorena’s parents, who were in town visiting from Columbia, could be part of this special moment which went into play deciding on a location. Julien wanted to do it on a beach, minus the crowds and for it to be a little more accessible for Lorena’s parents. Cue Picnic Island Beach! There are so many reasons why I love this versatile park but for the purpose of this session it fit the bill. There are never crowds and the parking lot is feet away from the sandy shore. Once we had our location down, Julien and I met up the night before to scout out where his Picnic Island Park proposal should go down. We decided on a gorgeous tree overlooking the water on the sand. Once we had a plan in place it was then up to the weather to cooperate. Luckily the next evening there was a small chance of rain so we pulled the trigger. We started the session with family photos of the whole gang which wasn’t suspicious to Lorena at all because she wanted to get family photos done while her parents were in town. As we headed to the tree the Julien had picked out, I asked Lorena’s parents to stay on the grassy bank while I did some fun shots with Lorena and Julien first. After a couple of poses I told Lorena to face the opposite direction from Julien and told her that he was going to run up behind her and give her a big hug. This is actually a pose I use in real life and I even showed them a photo example of what the shot was going to look like. As Lorena braced herself for impact, Julien got down on one knee. I asked Lorena to turn around and the rest is history. I think the sweetest part was having Lorena’s parents there to watch the whole thing. They had no idea it was happening so it was a surprise for everyone and the most perfect moment. After tears and celebratory hugs, I whisked Lorena and Julien around the the island for more photos and a colorful sunset. What a magical night. Congrats Lorena and Julien!