Stephanie + Cody / Owls Head, Maine Surprise Proposal 6.19.2021

June 10, 2022

I have been dying to photograph a proposal for as long as I can remember, and it finally happened! I couldn’t not share this story on the blog – this session is one of my favorites so far. There is something about real, candid moments of pure joy that just make my heart so happy. So – here’s what went down:

Cody and Stephanie’s “spot” is Crockett’s Beach, so when Cody reached out to me last September to plan a surprise proposal for Stephanie, he knew that was the place he would propose, and he knew that he wanted to wait for summer.

We had to think of a way to get Stephanie in front of my camera without her getting suspicious, so I suggested a fake giveaway. In January, I wrote Stephanie’s name down on tiny pieces of paper probably 100 times and went live on Instagram to do a “giveaway” for a summer shoot, disguising it as a thank you to everyone who followed me in 2020. I said that I had a vision for a golden hour couple’s session at Crockett’s Beach, and was hoping that the winner would be willing to model for me with their significant other so that we could bring the idea to life. Stephanie was thrilled to have won, saying “Cody and I go to Crockett’s all the time and it was our first date spot, this is perfect!”

Over the next several months, I precariously communicated in two separate email threads; one with both of them, where we discussed the “styled session”, and one with just Cody, planning the proposal. He let me know when he got the ring, we chose a date, and I described how we would secretly exchange the ring during the session and the moment when I’d signal for him to get on one knee. The pressure was on, but we were so excited.

This past Saturday, we all met up in the evening at Crockett’s Beach. Cody handed me the ring while Stephanie was out of sight, changing into her dress in my pop-up tent, and both of them agreed to let me to film parts of the session on my phone “for a behind the scenes reel for Instagram”, that way we were able to get video as well. We didn’t get the golden hour we were envisioning, but I think I love the moody clouds even more for those water shots, and everything went perfectly.

Stephanie, thank you for dropping the hint to Cody that you wanted him to have me capture the “someday” proposal, and Cody, thank you for trusting me to help plan and pull this off. It was an honor and I am beyond happy for you both!