London and Kelsi: Candlelit Surprise Proposal in New Orleans
A Surprise Proposal by Candlelight
London pops the question in a private French Quarter courtyard.
If you’re going to propose in New Orleans you should go big or go home. London decided to go big.
London and Kelsi are both travel nurses in New Orleans on a 6 month contract. Their location changes with each new contract and London knew that they were in the perfect city for him to propose. While I am heavily biased, I definitely agree! And I happen to know some of the best places to propose in New Orleans.
London wanted something intimate and private- a hard thing to find in the French Quarter. He liked the idea of a private courtyard away from the noise of Bourbon and Jackson Square. As it turned out, I knew just the spot.
A friend, Heather, had recently moved into a space near the center of the quarter but just far enough away for a bit of tranquility- and it had an adorable courtyard complete with a fountain. She was down to let us take it over for the evening and London jumped at the chance to be the first to use this special spot.
But a simple courtyard wasn’t going to be enough for our guy. He added 200 candles, a harpist, and a bottle of champagne in a horse-drawn carriage to pick them up after! We took sweet and simple and elevated it to spectacular with just a few additions. To really top it off, London he would sneak the ring to me earlier that day so I could add it to the candle display.
I know what you’re thinking: you were cool with being responsible for something so valuable!? And the answer is: yes! Of course I was. When I plan, set up, and photograph surprise proposals I am already responsible for something extremely valuable. Unlike a ring, you can’t actually put a monetary value on one of life’s most memorable moments. Protecting the ring was far easier than everything else that went into this beautiful evening.
To get Kelsi to the courtyard, London planned a night out for her birthday. They’d have dinner in the CBD before calling a cab to take them to a courtyard jazz show in the quarter. London said Kelsi loves live music and she’d also follow him anywhere he said they should check out. To make it more legit, I created an actual event page for the “concert” and had London “purchase” tickets!
Since the entrance to the courtyard is behind a locked gate, I planned to have my friend wait at the entrance with a clipboard and a list of names as if she was working the door for an actual event! Not only should you go big or go home but you gotta go legit or go home! I love adding elements like this to a proposal- they make them even more fun!
Before heading to the courtyard, I stopped at the barn of Mid City Carriages to drop off London and Kelsi’s champagne. I hadn’t worked with this company before but the carriages I normally work with are closed on Wednesdays! Mid City was accommodating, though, by allowing me to drop the champagne off earlier in the day and having the driver arrange it in the carriage when he arrived. They were even down with moving the pickup outside of the courtyard instead of by Jackson Square!
I arrived with my team a few hours early to get set up. We managed to score parking just down the block and loaded a wagon with everything the proposal called for. Which was especially lucky because it was a super hot and sticky late September evening. We wasted no time getting completely sweaty while we set up (I brought my trusty battery-op ryobi fan for moments of heat relief!) but still had a great time doing it.
After we had the candles in place, I decided it looked a little too seancé-y instead of romantic-y. So I had my assistant run to the local grocery and scoop up a dozen red roses. I didn’t need a lot of petals; just a few roses were the extra touch the display needed to really sell it.
Hari the Harpist arrived right on time and we got him set up and sound checked for the big moment. And then we played the waiting game!
One cool thing for me that happened during this proposal is one of my mentors who I used to work for shooting graduation ceremonies many moons ago, Mark Hommerding, happened to be in town for the first time in years. We’d had brunch together that morning and he was intrigued and excited by the proposal I told him I had planned for that evening. He said he wanted to come watch and I told him he absolutely could- as long as he shot some B-roll video to put into a reel for the couple! He agreed and I was thrilled to have him watch me in action.
Mark showed up a little bit before the couple. I had asked London to stall a bit so the courtyard could get dimmer and really make the candles pop. Using candles for a proposal is a challenge and a delicate balance between mood light and photographable light. 200 candles look bright to the naked eye but to a camera they aren’t a lot of light at all. So I aim for just after sunset, during twilight.
I got everyone into position as the couple neared the courtyard. I hid behind some door-length hurricane shutters so Kelsi wouldn’t see me when they walked in. I also had Heather enter ahead of them so I’d see her first and be ready. I can usually see a couple as they approach but not this time!
London and Chelsea followed Heather into the courtyard and Kelsi attempted to keep following her past the candles. She was still under the impression they were there for a candlelit courtyard concert! London took her by the hand and led her to the ring. And I still don’t think it completely dawned on her what was happening until he took a knee. She was completely surprised and absolutely overjoyed! The harpist set the music perfectly and everything went off without a hitch even with so many moving parts.
However, it happened so fast we had 15 minutes to wait until the carriage arrived! So the couple got a mini-engagement session while we stalled. London knew what I was up to by dragging out the portraits and kept asking for different poses and shots. Eventually, the driver called and said everything was ready. I told the couple I wanted to do a few shots out on the street with the cathedral behind them. But I actually led them to their carriage.
It was completely dark then and I had to do some serious steady-hand work. But the photos came out gorgeous. I actually like the navy blue of dusk AND we got a bit of a purple post-sunset sky.
Kelsi said she had told London months before that she wanted to be wearing a white dress whenever he proposed. She only had two dresses with her (since travel nurses don’t bring their entire wardrobes on the road with them) and one happened to be white. But she picked out the other dress and asked London to zip it up for her before they went to dinner. London knew she wanted to wear white but didn’t want to make it obvious that she should change. So, he pretended her zipper was broken so she had to switch to the other dress! Genius, my friend. Absolute genius.
To make it all even more special, Kelsi’s best friend had gotten engaged earlier that day in Italy. Some things are just meant to happen at a certain time, eh?
I really loved how complex this proposal was. My planning and coordinating skills really got to shine. The couple was over the moon (London added Kelsi to our text thread, relieved he could finally let her in on it!) and my friend said she is down to host another proposal there in the future since it was so fun. I can’t wait to dream up something different for this space next time!
Enjoy video and photos of London and Kelsi’s New Orleans Proposal Photography below!
Ready to plan your own proposal?
