17/08/2026
Behind the scenes of a beautiful marriage proposal at the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico. 🌴
This intimate proposal was planned by and featured a minimalist private picnic right by the water, complete with champagne, delicious snacks, and an incredible Puerto Rican sunset.
We scheduled the proposal for the beginning of Golden Hour, giving us that precious window of soft, warm light before the sun disappeared completely. If you’re planning an afternoon proposal, this is one of my favorite times to do it.
But photographing a surprise proposal is about much more than simply capturing the moment someone gets down on one knee.
There’s a lot happening behind the camera.
You can give your client all the instructions in the world, but when the moment finally arrives, emotions can take over. Thankfully, he absolutely nailed it. He followed my directions perfectly and stayed down on one knee long enough for me to find multiple compositions and capture the proposal in both landscape and portrait orientation.
You’ll also notice that I’m moving around quite a bit. That’s because the couple wasn’t standing directly underneath the archway. They were positioned slightly diagonally, which meant I had to move quickly to find a clean angle of their faces.
These tiny details matter.
And I never consider the proposal finished once the ring goes on the finger.
The kiss, the hug, the laughter, the disbelief, and those first few moments together afterward are some of my favorite photographs of the entire experience. The emotions are still completely raw, and that gives me an opportunity to transition from documenting the proposal into creating beautiful, intentional portraits of the newly engaged couple.
Those moments before and after the knee hits the ground are just as important as the proposal itself. They’re what turn a single moment into a complete story.
For this behind-the-scenes footage, I used my DJI Osmo Pocket 4 and graded everything with Phantom LUTs.
Another unforgettable Puerto Rico proposal and engagement session in the books. ❤️
Congratulations to the happy couple!
