Jacob and Taylor: An extra Surprising Proposal
A Proposal with a New Orleans Twist
Jacob pops the question at Jackson Square with a coordinated surprise!
Every now and then, a New Orleans Surprise Proposal requires some extra zhuzh to make the proposer’s vision come to life. Jacob’s proposal to Taylor was one of those times.
Jacob had his heart set on popping the question to Taylor with the St Louis Cathedral in the background. But he also wanted roses and a sign to decorate the scene. There were two potential problems with that idea: 1. decorating inside of Jackson Square would require a permit and it was too late to even apply for one and 2. The location I normally like to use is very high traffic and very windy; there’s no way to set up decorations and have them not be either blown away or trampled on before the couple arrived.
We looked at a number of locations that are easy to decorate but Jacob kept coming back to the square. I always tell people to go with the location that they really feel drawn to so I had to get creative!
Here’s what I came up with: instead of a sign, I’d craft a beautiful keepsake card that said “will you marry me?” on the inside and had Taylor’s name on the envelope. I’d have someone approach her and ask if her name is Taylor and then hand her the card and walk away. While she opens it, two people would toss rose petals around the couple and Jacob would take a knee.
I pitched this plan and Jacob lit up. It was a home run! I set about getting people lined up to help make this dream a reality.
But then I hit a snag. I visited the location less than a week before the proposal and discovered the platform where the cannon used to sit had been dismantled. In its place was a pile of rubble surrounded by traffic cones and caution tape and it was full of flies. It was NOT romantic at all. I took some photos and emailed them to Jacob asking what he wanted to do. We had a rain backup plan in a different part of the quarter so that was an option if it hadn’t been cleared away by Saturday. He agreed that would be ideal and I could decorate there ahead of time.
she’s not just a photographer and a planner but she’s also got them craft skills, yo.
But he really, really, really wanted Jackson Square and I really, really, really wanted him to have his first choice! I checked it out a few days later while location scouting for a surprise proposal later this month and saw that no progress had been made. New Orleans doesn’t tend to get anything done quickly. However, the city does tend to complete projects in the most heavily touristed areas more quickly than anywhere else. So I crossed my fingers and let Jacob know it was pretty unlikely to be gone by Saturday but I’d send someone over there to check it out earlier in the day.
This was the first time I’d crafted a card for a proposal and oooooweeeee it was a doozy! I’ve made cards before but this was an entirely new design. Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you I whole ass everything I do (as opposed to half-assing, get it?). I bought a couple of valentine’s day cut files from Etsy and set about merging them into one design that was had a more sophisticated modern fell and less of a cutesy hearts vibe.
Through some clever photoshop work, I made a card design that I really loved and I hoped Taylor would love, too. Of course I then struggled for a few hours getting it to cut properly. Thank goodness I had plenty of cardstock on hand because I was definitely running through it (sorry, trees! But I did it for love!). After a good 4 hours I had a gorgeous card I reeeeally wanted to show Jacob but I decided to keep it a surprise for both of them!
One of my flower tossing assistants lives a few blocks from Jackson Square so I asked her to go check the location on her way home from work on the day of the proposal. She sent me some photos and the rubble pile was gone! What was left behind was a recessed area with some rubble remnants bordered by caution tape that was attached to saw horses.
Ain’t no stinkin’ saw horses gonna stand in the way of making proposal magic happen! I decided to go with plan A and just move the dang things right before the couple arrived. I let Jacob know and he was stoked! I was really surprised the city had made any progress on it. Buuuut it was kind of an accident waiting to happen in one of the most popular tourist attractions in the French Quarter so it was definitely in their best interest to make moves.
I got there extra early because I was too excited (and nervous!) to wait at home any longer. The roses had been plucked, the card had been sealed, and I was ready for the big reveal! It was cool having 2 assistants there because we could take up the whole railing and hold it down for when Jacob and Taylor arrived. Taylor was wearing a blue dress that was easy to spot in the Square. I watched as they made their way around the park and gave Jacob the go ahead as soon as the sun had dropped low enough for a gorgeous shot.
A rubble pile is NOT my idea of romance!
Of course, just as they approached the railing, a street photographer walked up and started taking photos. It was too late to say anything so I waited until he was done before I took my place.
And then he was standing in my place! My assistant with the card was already headed over to Taylor and I was about to miss the hand off. So I shoved the photographer out of the way followed by a quick “sorry dude! sorry dude!” while I started rapid firing.
Everything happened so fast I honestly felt like I blacked out and was on autopilot.
Thank goodness this was proposal number 115 and my proposal autopilot is spot on! Because everybody nailed it, including me.
This was a risky one! There were some variables I had no control over. But aside from the other photographer nearly blocking my shot and the card handoff happening so fast we didn’t catch that moment, everything went perfectly. Taylor faced away from the flower tossers as well as Jacob. So once she got the card open, read the message inside, (I sealed the envelope on purpose so it would take her longer to open and give us more time to get everything set!) and turned around Jacob was on one knee with the ring out.
He. NAILED. It! It was SO SMOOTH!
Of course I really didn’t have any clue that he had until I looked at the photos after! The whole thing was over in less than 30 seconds but the look on Taylor’s face said it all: she was COMPLETELY surprised!
I apologized profusely to the shoved photographer who had obviously figured out why I’d done it by that point and went to congratulate the couple. I honestly didn’t even know if Taylor had opened the card or not, I was so blacked out! I’ve heard of proposers and proposees blacking out during their proposal but that was a first for me! We did some GORGEOUS portraits of the couple as the sun set before I sent them on their way.
The next afternoon, I looked through the footage my partner shot of the behind the scenes and got to see how zany that moment was. I was still riding the adrenaline high of a job well done. That tiny bit of surprise chaos made for an epic moment that those two won’t be forgetting anytime soon. And the photos?* chef’s kiss *
I put together a reel of behind the scenes footage alongside the photos and dropped it onto Instagram right fast even though I’d already posted a reel that day. And wouldn’t you know it, this first-of-its-kind proposal BLEW UP! It had been a few weeks since I had a hit (instagram is a slot machine, man) and the high of the killer proposal kept on rolling as the views skyrocketed. Talk about instant validation! Thanks for that, internet. You’re too kind.
Anywhoodle, the viral reel and images from Jacob and Taylor’s New Orleans Surprise Proposal at Jackson Square are after the jump!
Ready to plan your own one-of-a-kind proposal?
