A New Orleans Brass Band Leads this Surprise Proposal

Glenn proposes to Morgan on Bourbon Street with the help of a Brass Band

If you’re planning on proposing in New Orleans you might want to consider spicing things up a bit. We are known for our spicy, cajun and creole-influenced cooking. And I’m working to make us known for our spicy proposals, too!

And by spicy I mean just extra enough your sweetheart will be talking about it for the rest of your lives.

Glenn first contacted me in late September. He and his girlfriend of two years, Morgan, had a trip planned to New Orleans for November and he was ready to pop the question. He wasn’t overly familiar with New Orleans but he knew there were two things he definitely wanted: a French Quarter proposal with a brass band.

As it turns out, I had done more than couple French Quarter Surprise Proposals featuring local brass bands! He had definitely called the right Lady.

Our initial consult call was while I was driving across town to pick up the ring for London and Kelsi’s romantic courtyard proposal that night. It sounded like Glenn knew almost immediately that I was the right person for the job. I have a brass band who I work with regularly and I know the French Quarter like the back of my hand. I was leaving town for a long weekend the next day but I promised to get him on the books before I hit the road and get him planned when I got back.

Glenn had to sneak away to a coffee shop for our planning call. Since Morgan is a bit of an introvert, we decided that the brass band should be a part of the proposal itself rather than just a surprise, celebratory element after the “yes!” He was worried that a loud band jumping out of nowhere to perform might be more startling than Morgan would enjoy.

So I put the old proposal designer cap on and figured out the perfect way to incorporate a band into the proposal. And I think what I came up with was pretty stellar!

The plan would be for the band to be “busking” (I put that in quotes because they wouldn’t actually be busking aka street performing) somewhere on the street in the Quarter (protip: a brass band can’t perform in the actual street without a permit. But the sidewalks are okay!). Before the proposal, I’d have Glenn sneak downstairs from their hotel to give me the ring. Then I’d put it in a tip bucket in front of the band. Glenn and Morgan would take a stroll through the quarter on their way to brunch and stop to listen to the band. He’d tell Morgan he wanted to go tip the band and when he put the money in the bucket, he’d pull out the ring and shoot his shot!

Glenn loved this idea and I did too. The surprise element was important to him and this way Morgan would be surprised but not startled. It was also completely unique- I had never used a brass band this way before or hidden the ring. After she said yes, I’d have a bottle of champagne waiting for them as well. It was going to be the perfect amount of New Orleans spicy!

It took us quite a while to find the location that made Glenn go “YES! That’s it!”. I always tell people to trust their gut when choosing a location. Sure, I give them all of the pros and cons of various locations so they can make an informed decision. But there’s often this little jolt when a person sees the location that is “the one” (just like their partner maybe?). I tell them to follow that feeling because that will lead them to the perfect moment.

After giving him a few different options, Glenn knew he wanted a street corner with a wraparound gallery above. He wanted something with the quintessential New Orleans architecture look and a corner house with a big, wrought iron balcony would definitely have that vibe. But we also needed a spot that would be low on both car and foot traffic. I showed him a few spots just outside of the Quarter in the Marigny but none of them were sparking that fire that let him know they were the perfect location.

Until we hit the corner of Gov Nicholls and Bourbon streets. Yes, THAT Bourbon street. But on the residential end where it’s much more quiet and almost completely devoid of tourists (unless they’re just passing through).

As soon as Glenn saw the large peach corner house with the gallery overhead he KNEW this was the spot to bring Morgan. The best part of this location? The overhang meant there was a built-in rain plan! I just crossed my fingers it wouldn’t be too sunny because that side of the street would be getting baked in the sun at 11 am.

When I first contacted the band with the plan, the band leader was like “ummm… I don’t know about that. The ring will be in a tip bucket in the street?” And I said “oh, don’t worry, I’ll be there watching it the whole time.” I could hear him sigh on the other end of the phone “PHEW! Oh okay. I can’t play sousaphone and keep an eye on an engagement ring”. I don’t blame the dude one bit.

The first time I got the ring from a client before a proposal I was mad nervous. Those things are certainly not inexpensive and it was a lot to be responsible for! But I wouldn’t plan to have the ring somewhere that I thought was unsafe (like Jackson Square or Langles Bridge, for instance). And after the first time I was certain the ring would always be in safe hands.

I hired two assistants for this job. One to help me with equipment after the proposal (Glenn opted for a surprise Engagement Session afterwards too!) and one to help block traffic and then deliver the champagne. Blocking traffic is an extremely important job during a proposal whether we are in the street itself or I am across the street trying to photograph where cars could pass in between me and the proposal. This was a much less busy area than Ronny and McKenna’s proposal so I hoped that traffic wouldn’t be as big of an issue as it was with that proposal. But I took the lessons learned from that (and many other!) proposals and made a brand new prop just for the occasion.

I don’t know why it took me until the night before the proposal to think of it! And by then it was too late to buy anything. So I woke up early that morning and whipped up a stop sign for my assistant to hold. It was pretty convincing if you didn’t look too closely. 😂 If you did, it was obvious a half-asleep crafty photographer made it with her cricut.

But hey, that’s one of the perks of working with The New Orleans Proposal Expert: I have years of experience and well over 100 proposals to draw from. I can anticipate what might go wrong and have a plan in place to prevent those things from happening. And if it means I need to make a stop sign at 8 in the morning then I’m going to make a stop sign at 8 in the morning!

On the day of the proposal, I drove through the quarter to Glenn and Morgan’s hotel on upper Decatur. He was standing outside of the hotel looking more than just a little jittery. When he handed the iconic tiffany blue ring box through the window I asked him if he was getting nervous. He said he hadn’t been until he left the room to “go get water” aka bring me the ring! I told him that everything was going according to plan and not to worry. It was going to be great!

I met with my assistants and the band at the designated corner. It was a partly cloudy day and the sun was coming and going. I was praying hard that we’d have cloud cover during the actual proposal! Not only for the quality of the photos but also because it was spicy HOT that day! The nice Fall cool front we’d been having had definitely ended and it was well into the 80’s. Which really isn’t unusual for early November in New Orleans. I mean, we hope it will be Fall by Halloween but oftentimes it’s Summer jr. And unfortunately, Glenn and Morgan’s proposal day was definitely Summer Jr. But hey! At least it wasn’t raining!

They band members were all dressed in their second-line white and black and looked so good. I got them setup and gave them the rundown of the plan again before I placed the ring as well as some decoy dollars in the tip basket (I was fresh out of buckets. A basket would have to do!). The corner was thankfully calm and I got myself stationed for the perfect shot as well as having my assistant lined up for some behind-the-scenes video.

I gave the band the signal to start playing as soon as I saw the couple a block away. My traffic cop was awaiting my signal as well. The closer the couple got the busier that quiet corner got! Of course it did. Literally no one had passed in the half hour or so we’d been out there and as soon as we needed the space cleared everybody decided they needed to walk by that block! Some people stopped to watch the band which was great. Made it look even more legit.

I gave my traffic assistant the signal to step out into the street as soon as Glenn and Morgan approached the band. Just as they got to the tip basket, a woman walked over to the basket to drop in a tip! I was standing there going “no no no no no no! move!” but I didn’t say anything. I was not about to throw the surprise off! I just hoped Glenn saw her and would wait until she was out of the shot.

And he did! PHEW!!

He pretended to check his jacket pockets for something and I noticed that Morgan’s hair was going to be blocking her face. So I shifted position- at the exact moment Glenn went for the ring in the basket. DOH! I missed that exact moment but I didn’t miss when he revealed the ring and then took a knee. I just hoped that we caught the ring grab on video (spoiler alert: we did!).

Morgan’s hands went up to her mouth in the classic “oh my goodness he is PROPOSING RIGHT NOW!” pose. And within seconds she was wearing her brand new Tiffany Engagement Ring and dancing in the street with her fiancé!

I gave the traffic cop the okay to let cars pass and folks shouted “congratulations!” as they drove by. My traffic assistant transformed himself into bottle service assistant and served the couple their celebratory Veuve Cliquot. They kept dancing and enjoying champagne even though the sun had peeked out and it was warming up pretty good! I doubt they could even feel it in that moment, they were swept up in all the good vibes.

The band played a few more tunes before posing for a group photo and heading on their way. And I let Morgan know that there was one more surprise- a French Quarter engagement session! I got my portrait light setup while the couple finished their champagne and Glenn filled Morgan in on everything that went into the moment. I always love that part of a proposal- after the initial shock wears off and the proposee starts putting the pieces together. There’s always a string of questions like “wait… does my mom know? and my best friend? Did everybody know but me???” It’s fun to witness not only the person being surprised but the satisfaction of the one doing the surprising.

I quickly found out that Glenn and I share a love for doors. Not The Doors (although Jim Morrison was pretty alright). But actual entryways. I can’t really say why but I’ve always been drawn to them. The more colorful or ornate, the better. It turned out that Glenn actually has an instagram account dedicated to photos of doors! Check it out, his door photos are gorgeous: @doors_outdoor

So I took them on a little door tour of the lower quarter to some of my favorite portrait spots. I LOVE photographing couples in front of colorful or quirky New Orleans doors and this couple was a dream to pose. Morgan effortlessly fell into flattering poses with very little coaching. She said she hadn’t spent that much time in front of the camera but man- she really knew how to move! Even though it was warm, Glenn was a trooper and kept sporting his tailored suit jacket. They looked SO good together. I love how their engagement photos turned out.

Check out Glenn and Morgan’s New Orleans Proposal Photography (and video!) below!

Ready to plan your own spicy New Orleans Proposal?