Santa Cruz Surprise Proposal (Engagement Photography) @ Babbling Brook Inn

This was a tough proposal to remain inconspicuous – usually I’m at a beach where there’s plenty of space to pretend to be photographing something else – birds, waves, flowers, etc. However, Victor had planned to propose to his girlfriend Colie at Babbling Brook Inn, a quaint boutique hotel near downtown Santa Cruz. on the plus side, there was nobody else milling about. On the minus side, there was nobody else milling about – i.e. as soon as Victor led Colie out of their room and down the rose petal and candle-adorned pathway, I couldn’t really pretend to be anything other than a guy hired to capture this special moment. Thankfully Victor didn’t waste much time trying to explain, as soon as they topped the stairs to the gazebo he got down on his knee and popped the question. We took a few minutes to explore the property together; I think we got some pretty great engagement shots to show off to the family and friends!

Pebble Beach Surprise Engagement / Proposal

We had a rough idea of where my client would propose to his girlfriend, but like wedding photography, I’m always prepared to roll with the fluid circumstances of a proposal. I’d checked off the important stuff: 1) Satellite image with rough location, 2) rough timing of said proposal and 3) received selfie of couple so I don’t stalk the wrong couple LOL.

Luckily both sets of parents were also with me to witness the moment – this isn’t typical, but at least gave me confidence I wasn’t going to end up in the wrong place! Apparently these two are long-time sweethearts, and life found a way to finally, formally, unite this couple after 16 years. A beautiful thing, if you ask me!

Needless to say, everything came together like clockwork. She said yes, he cried. Well, they both did. They all did. I did. Ok not that last part. But I was happy.

Here’s a selection of my faves from the proposal itself and the brief engagement shoot afterwards. Luckily they were dressed for a nice dinner in Pebble Beach . (hint: guys, always tell her there’s a nice dinner waiting so she’s not wearing her comfy sweatpants when I capture this part!). Enjoy ;)

West Cliff Dr / Santa Cruz Engagement (She Said Yes!)

It seems like shooting surprise marriage proposals are 90% planning and 10% execution. I mean, I don’t want to accidentally stalk the wrong couple, or maybe be hanging out 100’ from where the guy decides to drop to one knee – so it’s important to use past experience to inform a perfectly planned and photographed proposal.

I knew Steve wanted to propose to his girlfriend on West Cliff Drive (a very special place for them), and specifically on one of two benches near a cool tree at the intersection of De La Costa Avenue. The problem? The benches are constantly occupied by pedestrians who (rightly) want to stop and enjoy the view. My solution? I went up to a gentleman who was hanging out on “the bench” and told him what was going down in about 15 minutes. After confirming he planned on hanging out that long, we conspired… I showed him the picture I had of my client, so when they got close he simply got up and walked off, leaving it free for my couple and nobody else.

Small things like this delight me, and of course when Steve transitioned from bench to down-on-one-knee, I was ready and shooting away. Here’s a few of my faves…. enjoy!

Marriage Proposal / Engagement Photo Shoot at Panther Beach, Santa Cruz

Aside from weddings, I probably put the most effort into helping plan surprise proposals for romantic guys who really want to make this moment special for their girls. From detailed and diagrammed satellite imagery outlining the target area for where I’ll be waiting, to making sure I receive a selfie of the couple so I don’t accidentally “stalk” the wrong couple, I go to great lengths to ensure all the randomness of nature and life don’t prevent me from capturing the moment, then expanding that moment into many moments, guided by my experience and natural feel for this sort of thing.

Even though we had a surprise river bisecting the beach, even though the tide (and waves) were so high that we couldn’t explore half the beach, even though it was a Sunday afternoon and we had a ton of partying teens cheering the couple on – everything came together in a magical way that I hope was everything Shamik imagined it could be. Here’s the highlights of our short time together, I hope you enjoy them.