AHHHH OMG YAY!!You found the love of your life! The person of your dreams! And you are ready to take the leap and proposal and spend the rest of your life with her!

But oh my gosh can we take a second to talk about how hard planning a surprise proposal is? There is SO MUCH to think about. What kind of ring does she like? Where should you do it? When should you do it? Is a holiday proposal cheesy or cute? Are you keeping it a secret? Should you tell your friends and family? But what if you do and they tell her? Are you going to have it documented, or should it be private? Can you even hire a photographer for this sort of thing? Should you hire photographer?

Whew that is A LOT to think about. But don’t worry my friend, I am here to help! I have helped countless couples plan and execute the most amazing proposal that their partner never even saw coming! Keep reading to learn my best tips for planning a surprise proposal, and how best to incorporate a photographer to capture the moment for the two of you. 

Okay so first let’s go over the basic steps on how to plan a proposal:

First- You need to pick a ring. Hopefully if you are getting ready to propose, marriage is something you guys have already begun to talk about so by this point your girlfriend has already sent you rings she likes, been dropping lots of hints about cut and color, or at least told you the style she likes. At this point you should also begin to decide who you’re going to tell, or if you’re going to tell anyone. For more traditional families it is proper to ask the parents permission first, but that may not always be necessary depending on her relationship with her family. 

Once you have a ring- You need to decide on a date and location. I recommend choosing a spot that has meaning to the two of you. Like maybe the park where you had your first date, or a spot where you guys vacation for every anniversary. Weather is another factor that will play a role in the location, for example if you want to propose in the summer the beach is probably a better option than a hot desert. Time of year is also an important factor too. Does she like holiday proposals? Or does she think it’s cheesy and would rather be proposed to on a random Saturday? Again, hopefully if you are planning on proposing the two of you have talked about this already, and you have an idea of what she likes.

Next step- You’ve gotta decide if it will be private or not. Do you want your friends and family there to witness it? Or do you want it to be just the two of you guys, and then you’ll meet up with your loved ones for a special dinner after? This is also a good time to decide if you want a photographer there or not! 

Having a photographer capture your proposal is a great way to document the moment forever and have photos to show your kids one day! And in this day and age where social media is a huge factor in peoples lives, having cutie proposal photos to share online with friends and family who maybe don’t live near you is the perfect way to stay connected, and keep your families in the loop.

I’m going to take a sec to walk you through a few options that I have seen work really well for surprise proposals, and the girl truly had no idea it was coming!

Option 1- Do it in the middle of an already planned session. 

This is perfect if you guys take photos together a lot already, or she has been begging you to do couples photos with her for months. This way we can spend the first half of the session taking normal couples photos, then after some sort of signal (I will usually help come up with a prompt that we both know and recognize, but she wont) you will get down on one knee and pop the big Q! After that the rest of the session will be spent celebrating and taking photos to show off the ring! 

Option 2: Have your proposal privately, and then meet up with your photographer afterwards for photos. 

If you want the best of both worlds between a private and documented proposal this is the best way to accomplish that! It allows you guys to have a moment to yourselves and take in your new fiance status, and then go take photos that way you have some cute pics to show off to your friends and family. 

Option 3: Blindfold her.

If you have an elaborate set up (or you will be crying a lot and don’t want her to see) blindfolding her is a great option! It allows for such a genuine reaction for both of you because all she’ll see when she takes off the blindfold is her man on one knee, and for you it will be the most magical moment of all. Honestly she will probably figure out whats happening, but she will be so over joyed by the amount of time and planning put into it, that it wont matter.

Option 4: Have a cute setup for her to walk up to. 

Imagine this, you tell her to meet you at your special spot. She arrives and gets out of the car, and at the end of the cutest lil path is you standing with a gorgeous floral set up and a will you marry me sign. SO CUTE RIGHT! And you can even do this as a picnic set up, balloon arch, or even do it promposal style with just a cheesy sign. Whichever way it will be most meaningful to the two of you and your relationship!

Okay so now that you have decided on if and how you want your proposal photographed, it is time to decide what happens after. Are you going to make reservations at your favorite restaurant? Or have a FaceTime call with friends and family set up and ready to? Or maybe you’re having a small get together with all your favorite people! Or you even keep it simple and just plan on having a chill evening just the two of you, and you will celebrate with friends and family the next day. No matter what you decide- it will be perfect for the two of you!

Once you have all the details lined up all that is left to do is do the dang thing ask the question! 

I know it seems like a lot to think about, but you absolutely got this! No matter what happens it will be perfect because you found your dream person and want to spend the rest of your life with them. At the end of the day, that is truly all that truly matters. If all the fanfare isn’t your thing you don’t have to go all out with it, this is your proposal and can look however you want it to! 

But just know that no matter how you decide to go about it, I would absolutely love to help you plan your dream proposal! To get the conversation started just click HERE and we can get to dreaming and chatting and planning and nailing out the details together! This is a once in a lifetime moment, you deserve to have it photographed to look back on and love forever.