One of the single greatest moments of Josh and my pre-married life was when he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.


And it came as a total surprise.

Quick Recap - My Engagement


For those of you that haven't followed along with my blog previously I have our full love story detailed out in previous posts.


But here's a quick excerpt of what I wrote after Josh proposed:


"So we got to the castle and started making our way up this beautiful pathway to get to the amphitheater. I'm oblivious to everything that's going on and am just waltzing up the path like I'm just going to go take some pictures.


When I get to the entrance of the amphitheater I notice a couple people with cameras set up and I think to myself "oh, there's some people shooting a project here and I don't want to interrupt them!" as I started to turn to tell Trent and Jordan we should probably leave.


My frisbee that Josh had thrown me to ask me on our first date back in October was lying on the ground in the pathway. I totally walked past it and didn't even notice it so Jordan kept trying to tell me about it. She just kept saying "Look! There's a disk on the ground! Whitney look! It's a disk."


She said it several times before I turned around to realize that it was MY frisbee.


It was then that I noticed the guy behind the camera was Josh's dad and I started to put two and two together as Josh appeared from around the corner.


I about died.


Josh was supposed to be at Target.


Josh led me to the middle of the stage in the amphitheater.


He got down on one knee and told me he loved me.


He asked me to marry him.


I said YES!"

Documentation


Getting proposed to all happened so fast. The day felt like a total blur.


A lovely, magical blur, but a blur nonetheless.


Thankfully, we had some pictures and a video made so we could look back on it all.


Before we were engaged I told Josh that my one non-negotiable for the proposal was that we have someone there to take pictures. He did one better and had two cameramen there, plus my friends with a camera.


I'm grateful now to be able to look back on that day and remember the excitement and joy I felt when he asked me that life-changing question.

Recommendations


Even though I am happy with what we have in terms of photos and video, here are a few recommendations I have for those of you not yet engaged:

Lighting


If you are the one proposing to your partner think about lighting. Try to propose during golden hour (the hour before sunset or after sunrise). This will eliminate some of the harsh lighting issues we faced with our proposal.

Location


Josh picked a great location. It was only after that I found out some of the trouble he had getting that location. Turns out to film or photograph at the castle amphitheater you have to have a permit.


And to make it harder, they only took cash.


It all worked out in our case, but doing your research on a location is vital before your proposal.


See my blog on Utah photography locations to start your research!

Consider Hiring a Professional


Hiring a professional photographer can make a big difference for your photos.


Generally, photographers won't charge their full portrait price for a quick, stealthy photoshoot at a nearby location and usually you won't need or want to spend a full hour with a photographer after your proposal.


A few quick pictures afterward are usually enough!

Conclusion


As you prepare to pop the question (or if you can feel the question coming soon) consider photographing it!


I am certainly glad I have photos of mine.


And, if you're in Utah and need someone to hide in the bushes and capture your proposal feel free to reach out!