Paris being the world’s most most romantic city, it’s no surprise that it’s a hugely popular place for destination marriage proposals. If you’re a groom-to-be planning to pop the question in the French capital - whether on a cobbled street, in trendy park or by riverside quay - there’s admittedly no better way to immortalise the occasion than by hiring a dedicated professional photographer. For those interested in my surprise proposal service, below I outline the general process of booking this type of photo shoot and arranging the proceedings so as to ensure that your going down on one knee is a perfectly-timed surprise.
WAYS TO MAKE A SURPRISE MARIAGE PROPOSAL IN PARIS
The general process of organisation is similar to that of my standard natural light lifestyle photography, except that, in addition to arranging a meeting point, I’ll also advise on how, when and from which precise angle to pop the big question.
Rather than simply being an isolated service, when you book a surprise marriage proposal with me, it includes a combined lifestyle shoot for the time that remains. There are 2 ways to do this:
Option 1 ) Propose at the Beginning
This way both the proposal and the photo shoot are a complete surprise. I arrange with the groom-to-be a specific location where I will be ready and waiting. The fiancés-to-be will then arrive at that place as if out for a stroll. Once in the pre-defined spot and position, the groom-to-be will propose. After I’ve spent time capturing the proposal and my presence has either been discovered or revealed, the remainder of the booked time is spent strolling the surrounding area, capturing candid images and portraits.
Although the surprise element is great, I personally do not recommend this method, as it puts a great deal of pressure on the groom (who will have to work hard to keep the whole affair a secret) and means that the exact positioning of the proposal itself is somewhat left to chance.
Option 2 ) Propose Part Way Through a Lifestyle Shoot
The proposal is done during a standard photo shoot. The bride-to-be will be aware that you’ve arranged a private photo session, which commences as usual. Then, at a pre-arranged place and time, the groom-to-be will propose by surprise.
The huge advantages of this method:
It greatly facilitates being in the right spot at the right time without the stress of having to conceal the whole photo shoot from your partner; with the 1st approach, you will have to undoubtedly have to invent a good reason for going to a certain place, at a certain time, and dressing for the occasion (very hard to do without raising suspicion!).
No time will be wasted awaiting your arrival; with Option 1 I’ve waited for up to 1/2 and hour for clients to arrive, as it’s simply so hard to time the arrival of 2 people when one of them doesn’t even know about the photo shoot! With Option 2, I’m taking photos from the off.
The element of surprise for this type of proposal is also great as proposing in the middle of a photo shoot is unlikely to be something your partner will expect. For these reasons, this is by far my recommended method of proposing.
