Love is in the Air!

David asks Emily to marry him in front of the Love Sculpture in the New orleans Sculpture Garden.

Every surprise proposal I ever photograph makes me happy. But new locations make me really, really happy! While I love using tried and true locations that I know inside and out, stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying something new is a lot of fun. David wanted to propose to his girlfriend, Emily, in front of the Love statue in the Sculpture Garden. And I was definitely in.

“You don’t think it’s too cheesy?” David asked me. “Too cheesy? Absolutely not!” I answered. Sure, it’s a bit obvious. But I didn’t mind that at all. When it comes to a surprise proposal, you really can’t take the romance too far.

David and Emily are a local couple (one of like 2% of my proposal clients that are from New Orleans) and he planned a big date to celebrate her birthday. They’d start with lunch at Galatoires before taking the streetcar down to City Park and strolling through the sculpture garden. But on the day of there was a bit of a hiccup- Emily started not feeling well during lunch! David snuck away to call me and see if we could reschedule and of course we could. I didn’t want Emily to not feel well during her proposal! We waited until she was feeling better and set a new date right before Christmas.

I arrived early and took a spot near another statue with a good view of “Love”. I watched as David and Emily came into the garden and went the long way around. I really hoped she didn’t notice me because I was spending a LOT of time staring at a big metal spider! I probably looked bizarre to anyone paying attention. But I was there and ready when they finally rolled up to the spot. David nailed it and Emily was completely surprised. The sun was at the perfect position to get some killer golden hour shots so I got a few portraits of the two of them before wishing them a happy holidays and heading on my way. The only thing better than using a new location is having everything go perfectly too!

Here’s a selection of David and Emily’s Sculpture Garden Surprise Proposal Photography.

Looking to plan your own surprise proposal?