After a horse and carriage ride through Central Park, they walked towards Cherry Hill in Central Park, where a picnic complete with chocolate strawberries, chilled champagne and two dozen cowlilies awaited them.

Milana couldn’t believe how thoughtful Eugene had been!  And, the surprises weren’t over yet!  Smiling, Eugene pointed out the nearby Bow Bridge, and right on cue, a banner unfurled reading, “Milana, I love you.  Will you marry me?”

Browse everything you’ll need in our ultimate New York proposal guide, from easy-to-book proposal packages to inspiring proposal photography from recent engagements we’ve helped plan and capture!

Eugene pulled off an absolutely perfect proposal, and it got an amazing reaction!  After he popped the question, Milana brought her hands to her face to wipe tears of joy from her eyes before saying, “Yes!!!” And moving in for a kiss!  Passersby on the bridge broke out into applause as he slipped a sparkling Kay Jewelers engagement ring onto her finger.

How They Met:

Eugene and Milana first met at a mutual friend’s housewarming party in July of 2014. 

Though they only exchanged a few words, Eugene was intrigued.  The pair had many mutual friends in common, and kept seeing each other at parties and events but never had a chance to exchange more than a simple “Hey, how are you?”  That is, until Eugene’s birthday this past June.

They struck up a conversation and Eugene felt instantly at ease with her.  He admired her easy-going attitude and fun personality, and wanted to get to know her better, but his shyness got the best of him that night and he didn’t ask her out.

With a little prompting from his friends, he gained enough courage to ask her out, and on June 19th, they went on their first date.

How They Knew:

It became apparent to Eugene as they spent more time together that this was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. 

Eugene said it was an initial instinct that simply grew naturally with time, and in October, he started thinking over creative ways to pop the question!

The Proposal Plan

Eugene knew he wanted a picnic in the park marriage proposal.

He had been trying to plan a picnic all of last summer, but weather kept getting in the way.  Their engagement was the perfect time to give her the romantic picnic they’d been talking about for months!

After chatting with one of our proposal experts, he decided that Bow Bridge would be the picture-perfect proposal spot!  He booked our New York Horse and Carriage Ride Proposal Package, adding on thoughtful details like a bouquet of flowers, a park picnic setup, and a custom banner to help him pop the question!

The Engagement Photos

Little did Milana know, our discreet New York surprise proposal photographer had secretly photographed their entire engagement!

Eugene wanted to make sure their entire proposal story was beautifully photographed to remember forever, so he booked a two hour post-proposal portrait session. After the couple had a moment to take in their new engagement and share a celebratory toast, our photographer introduced himself and joined the couple for a beautiful fall engagement session in Central Park. 

View their full proposal slideshow and some gorgeous engagement pictures from their couples photo shoot.

More New York Proposal Photography

Get inspired with more New York proposal photography by checking out our New York surprise engagement photography Pinterest board, full of great New York engagement suggestions.  Or, browse our variety of romantic engagement plans and customizable proposal packages to see which one best suits the two of you.  Still a bit stuck for ideas? Remember to Contact us today for a free consultation. We’re here with tips, tricks and local knowledge to help you pull off the perfect New York engagement, and discreetly capture it all with gorgeous professional photography!

The post New York Proposal Photography: Eugene and Milana appeared first on Paparazzi Proposals.

Photography is a tricky area to search for an expert.

There’s no governing body in terms of what makes someone a photographer and what doesn’t.  Any hobbyist can pick up their smartphone, take some pretty pictures, create a website and suddenly claim to be a photographer.

Which is why choosing the right photographer to capture your proposal should be done with care.  As America’s leading proposal photography company, Paparazzi Proposals has planned and captured hundreds of proposals across over twenty major cities nationwide.  Planning picture perfect proposal moments and capturing your partner’s reaction, paparazzi-style, is what we do!  Get more information on professional proposal photography by calling 888-287-5120 or filling out the form below.

This moment only happens once, and you want to make sure it is captured flawlessly, so keep these 12 tips in mind while you search!

Do They Do This Full-Time?

You want a professional to guarantee the quality of your photos.

There are a lot of people who are hobbyist photographers, who have done courses and know how to take pretty pictures, but it may not be their main line of work.

A great way to weed out professionals from amateurs is to give them a call.  If they pick up the phone, you’re golden.  If not, alarm bells should be going off!  Professional photographers are glued to their phones, because that’s how they get news about potential jobs.  Someone who’s serious about what they do will either take your call immediately, or call you back with lightning speed.

Use Google to Your Advantage

Any professional will have a strong online presence, because it is their full-time business.

Searching “best wedding photographer” or “best proposal photographer” in your area actually goes a long way.  It’s going to give you really good gage on who the best and most popular.  Keep an eye out for good reviews on Yelp, Facebook, etc.

Local Knowledge

Your photographer should be giving you advice based on local insight.

The Brooklyn Bridge is tourist central. Consulting with a proposal photographer means that you’re more likely to avoid the crowds and get that incredible reaction photo. From Stephen’s surprise proposal.

Meaning: if where you want to propose is close to a school, and you want to do it at 3:00, they should be able to let you know that it will be crowded.  You want a photographer that knows your while your proposal location might be really busy at 3:00, it’s going to be nice and empty an hour earlier. They should have all of the little details that will help you to eliminate any problems.

With our photographers, we recommend meeting the client at the same location, day of the week and time as the scheduled proposal to see what the area looks like.  Not only does this make for better pictures, these extra efforts show that this person is thinking about your proposal, and is not just trying to turn out cookie-cutter work.

Do They Do Their Research?

They should know what’s going on in the city the day that you want to propose.

For example, I’m currently thinking about this Sunday, when there’s going to be about 200,000 people slugging around Central Park after running 26.2 miles.  How would that impact a Central Park marriage proposal?

These are things that you shouldn’t ever have to stress about.  You’re paying top dollar for a photographer.  Make sure its worth the investment by going with someone who is prepared to work out all the logistics.

Flexibility

It’s your engagement, and you want your proposal photographer to work with you, not just tell you what to do! 

Your photographer should be able to give you helpful suggestions, like tips about lighting and the best way to stand. But if you want to do it in a set spot, they’ve got to be able to work around that and they’ve got to be professional enough to make it work no matter what the circumstances.

Body of Work

They may be a great all-around photographer, but are they a specialist in what you’re looking for?

What we’re seeing more and more of is photographers becoming jacks-of-all-trades, but really not becoming professors of one. For example, you wouldn’t hire a product photographer to shoot your wedding, you’d hire a wedding photographer. So when seeking someone to capture your proposal, you should be looking for someone who specializes in proposal photography.

You want a high volume of proposals in their portfolio, with a variety of different locations, poses and photo compositions!

Discreet Style

Do you really want some random guy or girl standing three feet away from you furiously firing off the shutter while you’re trying to drop down to one knee?

The concept of surprise proposal photography is capturing the proposal and the reaction without intruding in on that moment.  Your client’s partner should have absolutely no idea that the photographer is there taking pictures. 

And of course, that reaction has to be reflected in the work. Making sure the moment is uninterrupted is going to create that reaction shot that your partner will want to remember forever.

It was awesome to work with George to help him capture his creative Chelsea Highline proposal, which included serenading Chrissy with all of their favorite songs!

Enthusiasm

 Your photographer may have photographed hundreds of proposals, but are they interested in yours? 

This to me is almost as important as body of work and skill!While they may have done this before,  it’s your first and only time and you want them to convey confidence and enthusiasm.

They have to be excited about exploring your ideas on where to pop the question and why you want that location, so that they can help you get the best outcome!

Number of Photos

What we’ve noticed is people offering proposal photography, but only giving clients about 25 pictures.

If you’ve never met your photographer before, how are they to choose your 25 images?  You should be getting a professionally edited gallery that is reflective of the whole event, which means at least 125 edited photos. We’re not talking crazy, Vogue-cover photoshop, but we are talking basic color correction and making them all look pretty.  You should have some in black and white, some in color for a good variety.

High Quality Images

This means high resolution photos.

You need your photos to be high resolution for good prints.  A lot of photographers may send you photos that aren’t high-res, and then offer high-res photos for an extra cost.  That is daylight robbery, and if they even suggest that, you should walk on to the next photographer.

Quick Turnaround

You don’t want your photographer to spend 15 hours photoshopping  25 images, because that means you’re only getting a small gallery that takes 3-4 weeks to create.

You want to announce your engagement!  You don’t want to sacrifice quality, but you want to make sure you’re getting them 4-5 days after to share with family and friends.  Make sure the turnaround time is in the contract, and that you agree on it.

Back up plans

The best surprise proposal photographer will be able to control just about everything, except the weather.

But they should have a plan for a rainy day. If the weather is looking dodgy on the day, don’t be afraid to ask the photographer to move it around. They want to capture the best possible pictures, so they should be flexible.

If you’re set on the date, your photographer should have enough local knowledge to provide you with back up plans so that you won’t be standing like a drowned rat on the sidewalk getting sprayed by the X39 bus that’s whizzing past.

You Get What You Pay For

For the same reason you don’t go for a cheap wedding photographer, you shouldn’t scrimp and save when it comes to your proposal. 

This is your foot in the door for a mother-in-law on your side, so go with the best quality over the cheapest price!

Pay half price and you’re going to get half the quality.  That’s a general rule of thumb, and though there are some exceptions, going with the cheapest option is often a risk!

If you’re ready to pop the question, contact us today for a free consultation!  Looking for a few marriage proposal ideas before you book your photographer? Check us out on Pinterest and Facebook.  And remember, we’re here to take the stress out of planning and capturing your picture-perfect proposal.

The post Picking the Best Surprise Proposal Photographer appeared first on Paparazzi Proposals.

He led Angie from one incredible gesture to the next, starting with a gorgeous skyline helicopter ride to see the greatest city in the world from a bird’s eye view, followed by a trip to the top of the Trade Center.

After running back to where they were staying at the Essex Hotel, he told her he had a special lunch planned.  They headed outside, where he told her to pick a horse and buggy for a ride to where he had a Perfect Picnic arranged to have set up for them, and the ultimate surprise in store: his romantic marriage proposal!

How They Met:

Marc and his fiancé met on match.com and after chatting for a while online, they made plans to meet up in person and see if the initial chemistry translated into something more!

Something told Marc that Angie was special, and he wanted to meet with her right away, but he was leaving for a trip to Cuba. So he asked her out to dinner in advance and as soon as he got back the couple met up for the first time on February 5th, a date Marc has memorized!

Conversation was easy over dinner. They had a similar sense of humor and outlook on life, and the back and forth banter they had online was even better than expected. Marc loved that Angie was so interested in hearing about his trip and looking through the photos he took while he was away, and she was intrigued by his passion for life. After their date, they sat in his car by the beach in their home city of Boca Raton, Florida, watching the waves roll in and feeling relaxed and happy in each other’s company. It was the evening of his 50th birthday, and when the clock struck midnight he got the best gift he could have asked for— a kiss from his future wife!

How They Knew

Marc knew that he had met someone truly unique.

He had never been this intrigued by someone he just met, and he wasted no time— asking her out on a second date while they were still on their first.

The couple says they knew almost immediately that they had found The One. Their initial feelings only grew as they spent more time together!

The Proposal

Marc wanted to propose, and an invitation to New Jersey for a Bar Mitzvah presented the perfect opportunity.

He planned for a few extra days for them to stay in New York, and set about coming up with his full day, absolutely incredible proposal plan.

After giving Angie a romantic card in the horse and carriage promising he would make all her dreams come true, the pair stepped out onto Cherry Hill in Central Park. When they walked up to the picnic, she was surprised by the thoughtful gesture and stood in the picture-perfect spot for our photographer to capture her reaction— Marc knew it was the perfect moment, and popped the question with a gorgeous engagement ring from Diamonds East International in Boca Raton, Florida.

Her answer: a resounding, “Yes!” Through laughter and tears of joy.

The pair paused for a champagne toast before Marc introduced our photographer, who joined them for a gorgeous post-proposal portrait session.

And to top off an incredible proposal day, “We had 8th row center seats to Jersey Boys!” Said Marc, adding, “and I got her a great take-home token from the show: her own real live Jersey Boy, me!”

View the couple’s full proposal photo story!

Looking for some New York proposal ideas?  Already have some ideas and trying to find your perfect New York surprise proposal photographer? Contact us  today for a free consultation with one of our proposal experts.  Not in New York? No problem! We take the stress out of proposal planning and surprise proposal photography in every major city nationwide. We’re here to make the process easy so all you have to do is arrive at your proposal location— and keep it all a secret!

The post New York Proposal Ideas: Marc’s Perfect Picnic Proposal appeared first on Paparazzi Proposals.