New Orleans Surprise Proposal Photography

Matt proposes to Abby in New Orleans City Park

They say rain on your wedding day is good luck. So does that mean rain on your surprise proposal is twice as much good luck? Even if you are not superstitious, you might think that rain turning up on the forecast before your proposal is a bad thing. I always work out a rain contingency plan with my Surprise Proposal clients. But sometimes a proposal is so involved there isn’t a lot we can do to avoid the rain. Matt’s proposal to Abby was one of those.

Music was an important part of Matt and Abby’s love story. Hiring a musician for a proposal is something I’ve done before. But Matt wanted four musicians! Each guitarist was going to play a song that was part of their story, leading the way down a beautiful walk through City Park, ending at the spot we picked out for his proposal. I helped Matt find four talented guitarist/singers and they each learned one of the songs.

But a few days before, rain looked likely. If the forecast ended up being correct, we were going to have to adapt the plan. Both Matt and Abby’s parents were going to be hiding to surprise her and everybody was coming from out of town. So we couldn’t just move it to a different day! I had the musicians get to City Park early so I could figure out the right covered spots for them to set up. The fourth musician, Dr. Sick, decided he would brave it and play out in the rain! It wasn’t a torrential downpour but I was still pretty concerned about his guitar getting really wet. I guess I was more concerned than he was because he went for it. I placed the other three spaced out under the overhang of Cafe Du Monde and I hid near the end under a tree with my assistant and Dr. Sick.

I couldn’t see the other musicians from where I was hiding but I could see Abby’s face. And by the third musician, it seemed like she may have figured out what was coming and was fighting tears. I’m not sure if she knew or not, but when Matt got down on one knee, even out in the rain, she still looked completely surprised. She couldn’t hold the tears back anymore as she said “yes” to Matt’s proposal- and neither could I! Their parents came out of hiding to surprise her and we set off on a rainy engagement session. My amazing assistant ran around next to me holding an umbrella over my head so I could have both hands on my camera.

Heavy rain will definitely ruin a portrait shoot. But a light drizzle paired with a bubble umbrella and a well-placed flash is pure magic!

Enjoy these photos from Matt and Abby’s New Orleans Surprise Proposal photography!

Want to hire me for your own Surprise Proposal Photography?