In this case Ryan contacted me a few weeks in advance to see if I had the date available, and if this was something that I could do.  As it turned out, I also had a wedding booked for the same day, but I was not scheduled to be at the wedding venue until mid-afternoon, and it looked like late morning was the best time for the proposal.  So we were a go for the session!

Ryan and girlfriend Jenny were going to be staying at the Willows Lodge, so I needed to discuss with Ryan some good possible locations at the Lodge to do the proposal.  I have done many weddings and engagement sessions at Willows Lodge and know the grounds very well, so I gave Ryan a couple of ideas.  He then made a trip to the Lodge to check out my suggestions and let me know his favorite.  The plan was that he would take Jenny on a morning walk on the Lodge grounds and once in the correct location do the proposal.

The day of the session I arrived at the Lodge about 15 minutes early and texted Ryan that I was there, and asked when they would be ready to start their walk.  It was a good thing that I was early because Jenny was ready to go out the door right then!  I ran to the location where we had agreed to meet and quickly set up.  I like to try to hide from sight when possible, and if not to hide in plain sight by acting as a photographer who is just out taking photos.  In this case, as I was trying to set up in a hiding place Ryan and Jenny appeared while I was completely exposed.  So I picked up my tripod and gave them a wave as I walked past them and around the corner of the building.  Then I doubled back to catch the proposal as it happened.

It has been my experience that once the recipient of the proposal (especially if it’s a woman) realizes that a proposal is about to happen, they rarely pay any attention to their surroundings.  And I usually am a decent distance away, shooting with a big telephoto lens.   This was the case with Jenny, and I was able to get plenty of good shots as Ryan dropped to one knee and presented the ring, as you’ll see in the photos below.

Once the proposal and subsequent kissing were finished I picked up my gear and went to meet the couple.  Jenny laughed about our earlier close encounter and said she had just thought I was out getting photos of the grounds.

We then had a very pleasant hour or so of wandering the grounds of the Lodge and taking photos wherever it seemed appropriate.  I really enjoyed our time together, and think we got a lot of good photos.  You can now check out a selection of those photos below.

You can see more of this kind of session on my blog page at this link