First of all, congratulations!

And kudos to you for being prepared enough to think about hiring a professional photographer! I’m sure you’ll love these photos as well, but in particular, your future wife will be so grateful that you arranged this 🙂

Here’s a few preparation tips that I recommend after photographing dozens of proposals:

1. Do a Walkthrough With the Photographer if Possible

Between the elements of surprise and a nervous groom-to-be, things could go wrong. So, if possible, I like to do a walk-through with the groom-to-be and any other co-conspirators. It helps to get everyone on the same page. We’ll plan where you should kneel, where your girl should stand, and where I will be.

I’ve done many walk-throughs over Facetime prior to the actual proposal day. But, on the day of, if you’re able to sneak away before you actually pop the question, it’s even better to be able to quickly chat in person and on-location!

For example, Abe planned to propose on the rooftop of his girlfriend’s apartment building. When he let me into the building and took me to the roof, we were able to chat about where he & his girl should stand. When he brought Maya to the roof later that evening, I was ready!

Another example – Josiah proposed on a boat tour of the San Francisco Bay. Roughly 10 minutes before he brought Julie to this spot, he “had to go to the bathroom” and snuck away to quickly discuss with me.

Tip: When we do a walkthrough, we can discuss about where you’ll be positioned and where I will be. When you actually want to pop the question but your bride-to-be is facing away from the camera (where I won’t be able to capture her reaction), you can give her a hug right before you drop to one knee. This can be a subtle way to turn her to the correct position.

2. Give her an excuse to look cute

Having “plans” as a decoy is a great way to 1. help it be more likely that you won’t be very late and 2. make it more likely that she’ll want to look cute for going out. Of course, this isn’t necessary. But something to consider!

Example – say you have dinner reservations at a certain time, plans to see a show at a certain time, that you’re meeting people at a certain time, that you’d like to go out and take pictures of her, etc.

3. If you’re proposing outdoors, I recommend planning to propose at least 2 hours before sunset

I’ve photographed many proposals that haven’t occurred “on time” because it’s hard to get your future-wife out the door when she doesn’t know there’s a schedule. But being late does complicate things when the sun is going down and there’s not enough light to take a good photo. A flash going off is fairly noticeable which can ruin the surprise if you didn’t want her to know I was there.

I recommend planning to propose at least 2 hours before sunset to avoid any it’s-dark-now problems. Additionally, whenever I schedule engagement photos, we meet two hours before sunset because the light is most flattering at that time 🙂

4. Before you get on one knee, I recommend giving your future-wife a Big Hug

This can be your pre-discussed cue to the photographer that you’re going to propose very soon and to be ready! This hug can also be a way to turn her if she’s not facing the correct direction for your chosen background.

5. Take Your Time on One Knee

When you’re on one knee, take your time there! Say more words instead of less 🙂 It’s my job as the photographer to capture the action, but it’s much much easier when you’re on one knee for 30 seconds as opposed to 1 second. This also allows me to capture more variety in photos – up close, capturing more background, capturing different angles, etc.

5. After you propose, I’ll take more photos of the two of you

If you suspect that your future-wife would appreciate tissues, makeup, a change of outfit, etc in preparation for photos after she says yes, prepare that!

And good luck! 🙂

If you’re planning a proposal in/around Salt Lake City, you can see more location ideas and inspiration here. For Park City location inspiration, click here.