SHANE + BRITTANY

I’ve had the pleasure of capturing so many couples and their engagement sessions over the last year, but I’ve never felt more honored than I did on Saturday evening when my close friend Shane asked me (and my accomplice Emily) to assist in his proposal to his wonderful girlfriend, Brittany. I had just held a couples session with Shane and Brittany last month, so I was extremely pumped to capture this magical moment when I knew just how awesome they already were.

Saturday evening, just a half hour before sunset, Emily and I hid in the bushes at Mount Soledad near La Jolla, California and waited patiently for the arrival of this sweet couple. I had been misleading Brittany all week long, telling her we would be meeting at Mount Soledad for a “surprise birthday picnic for Shane at sunset” and she totally bought it! She even we as far as going up to Mount Soledad to scope out the area and text me a photo of where she thought we should have it –not knowing that would be the same spot she would be proposed to.

When the time came, Emily and I discretely watched as they approached the spot we had planned earlier with Brittany. When Brittany saw our backs, she looked oddly confused, expecting there to be a group of people and not just me with one other friend. Just a few minutes later, as the sun began to set, Shane and Brittany looked around, placed their picnic blanket on the ground and soon after Shane’s knee was on the ground too.

I had such an incredible time capturing this moment! It was so stressful, I was so worried I wouldn’t set my manual settings correctly or I’d miss the moment that only happens once in their lives. But here they are, the photos I hope parallel the magic of the moment they captured: