January 13, 2020 Fall Portrait Session
As a Greenville photographer, I had the honor of capturing two surprise proposals of two very dear people in my life!
While I am traditionally a family and newborn photographer in Indianapolis and Greenville, I was beyond honored to play a part in my older sister, Kylee, and my best friend, Megan's surprise proposal!! It meant the world to me to be able to photograph an important day for two very special people in my life! So get your Hallmark fuzzy socks on, because you're about to read about two adorable proposals!
Kylee & Jon | November 3, 2020
Kylee's boyfriend, Jon, has been like a big brother to me throughout their whole dating season (He even saved the day and changed my flat tire one Sunday night!), so when he asked to me to help plan and photograph my sister's proposal I said yes in a heartbeat! We concocted the plan, and four days later was the big day!
Kylee and Jon often go with me when I scout out new locations for clients, so it was a normal day for Kylee just like any other! Jon picked us all up, and the first thing I realized was that they had coordinating outfits, not their typical t-shirt and jeans look. Apparently Kylee had decided to dress nice that day, because she didn't have work that day... I wasn't convinced. So with my best acting skills (which are very little, but apparently worked like magic), I chatted up a storm about all the locations we were going to, how I had a stressful day, and that we needed to stay on schedule so that it didn't get dark out.
We went to two nature preserves, and as the minutes ticked by I could feel Jon's nerves rising. I explained to them that I was planning to make an Instagram Reel of our whole excursion to showcase the new locations on my social media, like I did the last time we went location scouting. Kylee believed me, and didn't think twice when I set my camera up at every location. Finally, I decided it was time to go to our final destination, Glendale Shoals in Spartanburg, SC.
We did a couple of fun poses to throw Kylee off, and then I told them we were going to try a new pose. They were going to stand a few feet away with their backs facing each other, and when I said "Go!" they were going to turn around and pretend as if they were at an airport and hadn't seen each other in two years. Kylee was all in... and I mean ALL in! While she was trying to decided what direction to turn around so that they wouldn't collide heads, I passed the ring smoothly off to Jon. I yelled "Go!" and the rest was just simply beautiful!
Kylee was shocked beyond words!! We ended the evening with a surprise party of her closest friends and family, and needless to say, I will always remember the anticipation and joy of planning the best surprise of my sister's life! To view the behind-the-scenes of Kylee's video, watch this Instagram Reel. Keep reading for Megan's proposal below!
Megan & Josh | November 7, 2020
Megan has been one of my best friends from college, since we were freshmen roommates! She is like a sister to me, and even after she graduated and I transferred colleges, we have worked hard to maintain a close friendship. My friend group from my previous college had always joked about meeting up someplace central to all of our locations for a weekend getaway. Greenville just happened to be the perfect place, and Josh decided that this also happened to be the perfect time to pop the big question that we had all been waiting for!
Megan values deep friendships, her family, sweet memories, and good views, so we wanted to incorporate all of this into her special surprise. On the day of her proposal, we planned a day trip out to Asheville, NC to go exploring and find good views. We had our final destination planned and that was about the extent of our plans for the day! Megan mentioned to me that Josh had asked for some updated pictures of them, so I pretended like that was news to me.
After a day of driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, taking selfies with the mountain views, and stopping an antique car museum, we decided it was time to put our plan into action - a picnic at sunset at Black Balsam Knob. But there was a problem... There were no restaurants, gas stations, or stores... for MILES! We were on the Blue Ridge Parkway and had forgotten to take that into account. To make our plan even worse, as we drove to Black Balsam the roads became more and more clouded by fog to the point where you couldn't see a few feet in front of you. Did I mention there was no cell service?! We had to use our Notes app to frantically communicate with each other. So with no picnic, no good views, and no sunset, we all were a little nervous, but decided it was now or never.
After hiking a short trail to the top of Black Balsam Knob, we laid out a blanket and sat there to catch our breath. A few minutes later, I told Josh and Megan that Austin and I were going to scout out where to do their photos. While Austin and I hid in the bushes a few feet back, Josh got down on one knee and asked Megan to spend the rest of their lives together. Her answer was immediately "YES!!" and after a few minutes, we ran out to congratulate them both!
It is such a joy to call Megan and Josh such close friends of mine, and to be there for that that day was just SO special! Josh went above beyond by surprising Megan with all of her family members from Tennessee and some of his family in South Carolina getting together for a surprise party! It was such a fun evening celebrating these two!! I cannot wait to stand by Megan's side on the day of their wedding in May! Enjoy Megan and Josh's proposal photos at Black Balsam Knob in Asheville, SC!
We took this just a few minutes Megan's proposal, and she had no clue what was coming!