ahanmag: WILL YOU MARRY ME? SAY CHEESE! (#1)

We hire a photographer to take pictures of our wedding day, sometimes to take pre wedding pictures shortly after we're engaged. If we're a little more daring we secretly have boudoir pictures taken as a special surprise for our husband-to-be, and even trash the dresh when it's all said and done. But what about the proposal? The proposal is what started it all, so why let this moment slip by when you can capture it too on film and have it forever?

This is a trend growing in popularity that Viva la wedding can't get enough of which is why the next few posts will be dedicated to just that. Stories of surprise proposals with pictures taken by the photographers who were hired to shoot them.

Here's #1 - (as told by photographer Cheyenne Schultz)

Since Amy and Andrew, I've decided that shooting actual engagements is totally my favorite thing ever to shoot. I've been dying to post these. So, here's how it went down.

Back in August, web/graphic designer and aspiring photographer Andrew contacted me to let me know he was in the beginning stages of planning his proposal to his then girlfriend - Amy - and wanted to book a session to have it photographed. Over the course of the next couple months, we schemed up a great plan for this to happen.

Amy and Andrew are from Raleigh, so the first thing was getting them to Charlotte. Andrew worked it out to be in for a weekend to visit friends, which would be followed by an opportunity for Andrew to come shadow me photographing an engagement session on Monday morning (at least, that's what he told Amy). Once Monday morning rolled around, I picked up the phone to call Andrew and unfold the plan......Andrew relayed the message to Amy - the engaged couple for the session had cancelled on me because of the weather (lies......all LIES!!! :), but if they wanted, I could go ahead and just photograph the two of them, as Andrew would still be able to learn a lot being in front of the camera. Amy took the bait and the pair headed to meet me.

I started out the shoot like I would any shoot...but talked out loud at what/how I was shooting and why - just to keep Amy on the trail that this was a learning experience for Andrew. I had told Andrew beforehand what I was going to say that would be the cue for him to drop to his knee...... "One thing I'll do sometimes to encourage interaction is to have the couple face the opposite ways from each other and when I say "go", I'll have them turn around and run toward each other into a hug. So, let's go ahead and do that. Amy, go ahead and face that way, and Andrew, you face the other way."

Amy turned around, Andrew dropped to his knee, and my heart about stopped I was so dang excited! "Okay, GO! Turn around!" And this is what she saw. BEST. MOMENT. EVER.