The Marriage Proposal Spy

proposal1I love a good proposal story.

I don’t know exactly what it is–perhaps my love of rom coms? Of sweeping romantic gestures? Whenever I hear that a friend got engaged, I want to hear exactly how it happened.

I particularly like when someone isn’t expecting the proposal. But when I see engagement photos on Facebook, I always wonder, “How did they not see this coming? There’s clearly a cameraman taking the photo?” And sometimes the photos look so staged. It’s this beautiful, romantic moment, and you’re sitting there posing for a photo? It seems odd.

So a few months ago when I read this article, I bookmarked it to write about at some point in the future. The idea is that there is a photographer in New York whom you can hire to discretely take photos of your proposal as it’s happening. He does it from a distance with a zoom lens so you have no idea it’s happening.

I think that’s pretty brilliant. I’m sure it’s been done before, but this guy has made a business out of it, which is cool. And I like that it allows the couple to be there in the moment instead of thinking about what the engagement announcement will look like on their friend’s fridges in a few weeks.

What is your experience with engagement photos? Has anyone used a service like this?

5 thoughts on “The Marriage Proposal Spy”

  1. I had someone take pictures from the bushes when I asked my wife to marry me. Marlene didn’t have a clue.

    BUT – here’s best engagement story ever (not mine). A couple was playing Humans Vs. Zombies in Springfield, MO. My buddy was there to film some of the HvZ action when this guy mentioned he was going to proposed to his girlfriend during after the battle. So they staged the battle to culminate in this event. She was a zombie, he was a human with a nerf blaster. They were the only two standing. She came in quick after him and dodging all his nerf bullets. Then, when there was no hope for human survival left, he bent down on one knee and pulled out the ring. She was a little confused at first, then figured out what was happening and was over the moon. Best part, my buddy got pretty much the whole thing on camera. Can’t beat that 🙂

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  2. When I read this entry, it confused me a little. I think (and I may be wrong) that you’re talking about two different types of photos here. A proposal photo (which I’d actually never heard of before) seems to be something to capture the moment of getting down on one knee and the reaction. Engagement photography is a planned shoot taken well after your actual proposal, usually in a special place with lots of preparation. My experience has been that those are to commemorate the engagement period/pre-wedding, and that they’re often used on wedding announcements. Am I missing something?

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    • Trev: Yes, I’m talking about the actual proposal. You’re right, I think most people do the proposal and then also have an engagement announcement photo shoot. I feel like I’ve seen quite a few photos of the actual proposal, though.

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  3. Sandra Bullock… *dreamily sigh*… That movie is funny. And Ryan Reynolds… yum. Betty White’s in it too. She’s awesome! If you haven’t seen “The Proposal”, check it out.

    Jamey, I’m with you on this one. Look at that camera. It’s huge! How do you not know notice a guy position himself somewhat oddly and in a bush with the lens pointing at you? I would probably notice and say, “Look! Camera! Smile and wave! Let’s run over to him and see what’s he up to.” Yeah… I’ll totally ruin the moment. Oops.

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