New York Proposal Photography | Shawn and Whitney
“Shawn and I met years ago in Myrtle Beach. We had a lot of the same mutual friends so we’d see each other out occasionally. I moved back home to Virginia to grow my clothing boutique so didn’t see him for a while. On April 2nd, we both attended one of our mutual friends wedding, Evan and Courtney Burgess. Not knowing either of us would be there, we are so thankful for not only their marriage, but that we were both able to attend. ”
“It is WAY better than any ring I have ever seen or tagged him in. I wake up every hour of the night to make sure it’s still on my hand. With the help of Paparazzi Proposals, my fairytale has came true. “
“I can remember going to the bathroom right after their ceremony, and when I came out, shawn was coming out of the men’s restroom. We hugged and chatted for a minute and then I walked over to my brother and said “He is the man I am going to marry one day.” He literally TOOK MY BREATH AWAY.
A few drinks later (haha) and a pep talk from my brother, I got up enough courage to ask Shawn to dance with me, he grabbed my hand and took me to the dance floor, and spun me around for the next 3 hours! “Purple Rain” was the very first dance we ever danced to and for months after we would hear that song in the most random places. We’d always laugh and dance a little because it’d take us back to the BEST night of our life. “
We met a long time before we started dating and we occasionally ran into each other over the years. I always enjoyed seeing her but on April 2nd, at a mutual friends wedding I saw her walk out in a blue dress and she looked absolutely perfect. We spent the whole night talking and dancing. From that night I knew she was the one.
“Whit had always told me she dreamed of a winter, NYC proposal, as NYC is her favorite place to visit. I would tell her that wasn’t ever going to happen because I couldn’t ever make it a surprise (but boy did I!). Whitney and I always talk about our (one day) son, Bo, and when I was communicating with James (of Paparazzi Proposals) trying to decide on a place, I knew immediately “Bow Bridge” in Central Park was where I would ask her to be my wife. I wanted to make sure I made all her dreams come true (and then some). “
“Whitney’s mom and brother played a big part in planning the proposal. She was supposed to fly to Myrtle Beach (she lives in Virginia and I live in South Carolina) December 9th for my company Christmas party. Luckily her car was in South Carolina so her mom was taking her to the airport that morning. I drove to Virginia the night before to surprise her at the airport the next morning. The very first time I told her I loved her, I picked her up from the airport in South Carolina and had a sign that said “Ms. Rife” and when I flipped it over it said “I love you”. So it was only fitting when I jumped out from the delta sign, I was holding a sign that said “New York?” With the help of Karen and Brennan, we were able to totally surprise her, even tho she almost froze to death because she thought she was coming to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. “