New Orleans Surprise Proposal Photography

Tyler asks Cody to marry him in the french Quarter Haunted Hotel.

I have had many proposal ideas for New Orleans Surprise Proposals that have needed just the right couple to pitch to. There are a bunch still bouncing around in this ole noggin of mine just waiting for the perfect client to come along. I have wanted to do a Halloween themed marriage proposal for the longest time.

But a couple has to be really extra to find a spooky proposal romantic. Tyler and Cody? They were just that couple.

Tyler and Cody had tried to visit New Orleans twice before. They’d booked flights and planned their tours and excursions only to have the trips fall apart twice. Once was due to Covid. Once life getting in the way. So Tyler knew that not only was the third time the charm but it was also the time to ask his boyfriend of 5 years to marry him.

Tyler wanted to take Cody on a carriage ride and he was interested in proposing in one of New Orleans’ epic cemeteries. Logistically, that would be really difficult. For starters, the only cemetery within a reasonable carriage ride distance from the French Quarter is St. Louis #1. That cemetery is closed to the public unless you go on a tour since Marie Laveau is entombed there (and people love defacing her tomb. Which seems like a bad idea considering she was a Voodoo Queen).

The other issue is that cemeteries close super early. Unless they went to a tree-filled cemetery like the ones in Metairie, they’d be dealing with no shade, harsh sun and potentially a lot of hot concrete. Late October weather can really go any which way. We might get gorgeous Fall temps. We might have lingering Summer heat. Maybe it will decide to be Winter for the weekend. Or it could pull a 2020 and deliver a late-season Hurricane.

I wanted to give them a spooky proposal but I knew a carriage ride to a cemetery would be less than optimal. But I saw that they were planning on staying in the French Quarter Haunted Hotel for a few nights. So I immediately reached out to the Hotel’s owner, Ginger, to see if she’d be into a proposal there in the courtyard. She was over the moon with the idea! She had hosted some small weddings but never a surprise proposal.

I pitched the idea to Tyler and he was all for it! I was stoked to finally get the chance to spook things up!

We decided on a twilight proposal with candles, fog, spanish moss, and dried leaves as if they’d just blown in during a seance in the woods. Plus a bottle of rosé champagne for celebrating their new engagement. Tyler was going to leave the ring with Ginger so I could incorporate it into the decor. And they were going to take their carriage tour just before the proposal- giving us an hour to set everything up.

I did a little research on dry ice since I’d never used it before. It would provide the exact fog effect that I wanted for the proposal. The trick would be getting hot water to make it do its thing. Ginger said they had a few electric hot plates in the kitchen that we could use to heat up water. I figured that should work but it wasn’t ideal. So I brought a few fog machines as backup just in case.

There was a lot to load in for this proposal and I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to make multiple trips to and from a car parked blocks away. But I’ve had impeccable luck finding French Quarter parking lately (knock on wood) and landed a spot directly outside of the Hotel! I struggled with the key box to get the gate to the courtyard open. It took me so long that by the time I got the door open, Tyler and Cody were exiting! I apologized for being in the way and exchanged a quick, knowing look with Tyler before we went our separate ways.

I had my team start setting up while I headed upstairs into Tyler and Cody’s room. He’d left the door unlocked and told me where to find the ring. Going into a client’s suitcase to grab the ring was definitely a first! We had originally planned for him to leave it with Ginger but there hadn’t been time for him to sneak away to get it to her. That and it turned out she wasn’t going to be there for the proposal as we had hoped!

I found the ring exactly where he said it would be and I snuck a peek before I headed back to the courtyard. YOWZA! It was honestly the most stunning engagement ring I’d ever seen: a pink diamond on an ornate, antique gold band encrusted with many more tiny stones. The box was even a show-stopper- an antique treasure chest ring box! I especially loved that he had stuck a post-it note on top that said “engagement ring inside! Please be discrete!”- an obvious message for TSA. Our boy Tyler was a clever cat!

My partner was on the team that day and I told him that of all the rings I’ve seen this one was the closest to something I would want to wear. While I appreciate the dazzle of a classic diamond solitaire, I’m more of a precious gems lady. This pink diamond was lab-grown. So not only was it breathtaking but it was ethically sourced too! I’m about that life.

I sent my other teammate, Victoria, into the kitchen to find these rumored hot plates. I’d brought a kettle and a pot from home but we were going to need a LOT of hot water to make 5lbs of dry ice do its thing. Victoria found two hot plates and also a large metal pot. I set her on the task of getting water going while I continued to setup the circle of candles.

I’d brought a black metal and glass lantern to put the ring box in. Victoria pulled up a small shepards hook from another part of the planter box behind our proposal as a brilliant idea for how to display the lantern. But this created the issue of it swinging. So I set out to find some rocks to steady it. And then I realized it needed to be lit to really stand out!

Victoria put an led candle in the top of the lantern but that wasn’t enough. So we searched the courtyard for some sort of lighting option. Ginger had decorated the space for Halloween so there were various options hidden around the place. I found a spotlight that would work if I could diffuse it some. But then came the issue of plugging it in! There were only 2 outlets that we could find in the courtyard and we were already using one to heat the water. I ran some extension cords (always bring extension cords!) and got the light setup. Tossed a spooky boi from the courtyard decor on top of it and we had the perfect backlight!

We hadn’t set up the dry ice yet and the couple was nearly back from their tour- 15 minutes early!! We needed every last of the 60 minutes we had planned to get everything setup. I texted Tyler and told him to stall until 6. Maybe go get a drink around the corner. Fortunately, there’s a bar around the corner pretty much anywhere you go in the Quarter.

I had to get the dry ice going- and quickly! I carefully put a big chunk of it in the metal bowl I brought and placed it between the light and the lantern with the ring. But the water we had been heating wasn’t even remotely hot! The hot plates had turned off entirely! We must’ve blown a fuse while fiddling with the lights. Shit!!!

I used unheated water out of the courtyard tap and got the fog effect rolling. PHEW! It looked SO good! But since the water wasn’t hot, it was petering out quickly. We kept adding more dry ice to keep it going. But by the time the couple was about to enter, it was almost entirely gone. Which would’ve been fine except there was a big metal bowl right behind the ring and it was far too cold with the dry ice to safely move. Ugly! Ack!!!

I scrambled to get the fog machine setup. It took a few minutes to heat up but once it was ready I let Tyler know we were ready to roll. I had my assistant stationed at the entrance to the courtyard so they could give me a signal when the couple was about to head down the alley from the street and I could get the fog going.

He gave the signal. I hit the button. SHIT TOO MUCH FOG! lol

I leapt over the candles and waved the fog around before running back to my post. By the time Tyler led Cody into the candle ring, it looked perfect. Cody hesitated to walk into the ring at first. He was thinking this was setup for something else and he was disturbing it. But when Tyler took him by the hands and turned him so they faced each other, Cody was shooketh! His jaw hit the floor and he stole a glance at me firing away while Tyler retrieved the ring out of the lantern. Cody’s jaw didn’t leave the ground as Tyler took a knee and his nod was almost imperceptible just before Tyler stood up and Cody fell into his arms saying “yes!” into his neck.

The adrenaline I’d felt in the minutes before melted into joyful tears as I captured a couple that was so obviously in love with each other.

After Cody pulled away from the long, happy hug, he shot a finger up into the air and said “I KNEW it!”. And Tyler said he was so relieved he could finally tell Cody everything. He said there were so many times he wanted to share details with Cody- his partner and his best friend- but had to stop himself from almost spilling the beans!

Tyler put the amazing ring on Cody’s finger while Victoria brought them their champagne. I took lots of candid photos of them, a lot longer than I normally would, because they were just so gotdang cute I couldn’t help myself.

Once it was dark dark they retreated to their room and we got to work packing everything up.

Breaking down always goes way faster than setting up! Within half an hour, the three of us were piled into my car, excitedly talking about the experience. It was not without a few hiccups but we had come prepared and delivered the experience Tyler wanted to create for Cody. I am so grateful to have a team who works well under pressure and can anticipate my needs. I don’t always have words at the ready when I am in an 11th hour proposal crisis panic! But my folks knew just what I needed.

The only thing I would do differently next time is either nix the dry ice entirely and just use fog machines. Or invest in several electric kettles that could be plugged in inside. I’m still not sure 2 electric kettles would heat enough water for that much dry ice. But maybe some scalding hot water would be enough to heat up any room temp water in the bowl? I guess I’ll find out next time.

Check out photos and a video of Tyler and Cody’s Halloween Surprise Proposal below!

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