How to plan a surprise proposal for the one you love
Listen up Lovers! Do you love surprises? How about surprise proposals? If you said yes then you are in luck! We have a stunning, real engagement photo session to share with you this week that ended with the most romantic surprise proposal. All planned, with a bit of help from their photographer Frances Beatty, by the groom to be, Steve! Along with all of the beautiful photos (don’t miss the most perfect sunset shot!) we asked Steve for his thoughts on the experience. Read on to learn more about this gorgeous couple and their advice on planning that perfect surprise proposal.
Couple:
Shannon & Steve
Location:
Kimberley, Ontario
How did you meet?
We met on an online dating site and arranged a first date at the Abe Erb Brewery in Kitchener. We chatted over drinks for several hours and the connection was instant and felt natural.
How did you fall in love?
It’s hard to put into words exactly how we felt in being drawn to one another like a magnet. I don’t think either of us were expecting to experience the strong connection that we had very early on. It couldn’t have been more natural, it’s as if we knew each other all along.
What's your favourite thing about your partner?
She puts so much love and passion into everything she does whether it be our relationship or her career as a pastry chef. Also she’s got a great butt and beautiful eyes.
When/where did you propose?
Old Baldy Conservation Area lookout in Kimberley, ON on Oct 25th, 2019 around sunset.
How did you manage to pull off a surprise proposal? Run us through the logistics.
Shannon and I had been talking about getting married and we both decided we wanted our wedding to be in 2020. So before I even proposed we started looking at venues and talking about what we wanted for our big day. We began looking at rings and I found out the ring I wanted for her would take several weeks before I could pick it up. We then started searching for a photographer and when we came across Frances Beatty Photography; we instantly fell in love with her work. Shannon was initially the one in contact with Frances about figuring out photography. We had preemptively scheduled our engagement shoot with the hope that we could get the beautiful fall shots that we were imagining. At this point I had began secretly messaging Frances on my own time and luckily she was very excited in helping me pull off my grand plan for the proposal. I was supposed to pick up the ring earlier in the week leading up to the proposal but turns out it wasn’t ready for pick up until just hours before the plan was to unfold! I was very nervous that day and it was a somewhat quiet (on my end) drive up from Guelph to Kimberley. We met up with Frances in the parking lot of Old Baldy and the plan (according to Shannon) was just to have a nice adventure walk through the trees and get some great shots at a couple of look out points looking effortlessly in love. We came up to the biggest and most beautiful look out point of the hike and Frances sneakily asked if she could take a few one-on-one photos of each of us. When it was Shannon’s turn, Frances had strategically asked her to turn her back to the camera and enjoy the view over the horizon. I had the ring carefully packed in my backpack and retrieved it before taking a short walk over to Shannon; this was it. I got Shannon’s attention and as she turned around, I knelt down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She didn’t give me an answer right away because she was laughing and crying uncontrollably. She gave me a big huge yes moments later and the rest of the day was a very happy, loving, relaxed daze of a day.
How did you choose your location?
Old Baldy is a place I grew up exploring as a kid, and I even skipped high school a few times to hike there with friends to find peace of mind. It held a lot of great memories for me to begin with. Shannon and I are both huge nature lovers and enjoy hiking, and I also wanted to take advantage of the beautiful autumn colours. I knew I wanted a place that encompassed all of that and there is no better place in the area than Old Baldy. I knew that proposing there would be a very special and memorable experience for us both.
What advice do you have for people planning a surprise proposal?
I spent a long time stressing over the details and wanting to make it perfect, but in the end I decided on going with the most natural feeling plan that embodied who we are as people. Less is more for both of us and a simple yet romantic hike just made sense since that’s something we already found enjoyment in. There’s something very special in the familiar things, so don’t worry about having to plan something that’s very out of character for either partner.
What was the most memorable moment?
When I proposed and I realized that I successfully surprised her with the ring (she loves surprises). Also Frances timed our session perfectly so that she captured the most beautiful sunset right after the proposal.
Is there anything you would do differently?
Nothing at all because everything worked out perfectly thanks to the help of Frances.
Did anything go unexpectedly? If so.... How did it affect the day?
The only thing that didn’t go as planned was having to pick up the ring very last minute on the day of the proposal. Luckily it didn’t delay us for the timeline of the day so other than me feeling nervous for a little while, nothing was really affected.
What did you do after your proposal?
Afterwards while high on love, we drove to meet up with family to celebrate and eat tacos (one of our all-time favourite meals).
Vendors:
Photography: Frances Beatty Photography