Downtown Plymouth, Michigan Surprise Spring Picnic Proposal | Larry & Julie

Portraits, Proposals

Larry reached out to me about his plans to propose to Julia over 3 months before he was going to pop the question. When we chatted, he knew he wanted to set up something special for Julia in the spring that would be a complete surprise right after their 3 year anniversary. Larry’s made himself known for going over the top for their anniversaries and so he decided to use their anniversary as a way to keep Julia from anticipating the proposal and instead, think it was just another Larry anniversary scheme!

Well, it worked. Larry roped in several of Julia’s friends to set up “lunch plans” in downtown Plymouth so the idea would, in some ways, come from Julia. When they got downtown Plymouth, I texted Larry, who had changed my name to the name of the friend they would be “meeting for lunch” that we were waiting over by the fountain because there was a wait for the table at the restaurant. All of which got Julia to the spot where one of her best friends had set up a beautiful picnic set-up complete with chocolate covered strawberries, champagne, photos of the two of them and a notebook that said “Happy Anniversary.”

After walking to the picnic and seeing her own photos, Julia stopped, took photos of the picnic set-up and looked through the notebook, after which Larry hugged her and dropped to one knee. The best part, she was totally surprised! Oh, and she said yes!

Julia spent a good majority of the shoot trying to piece together in her mind where she had missed the signs of the proposal coming and how Larry had pulled a fast one on her! Too good. After the marriage proposal went as perfectly as planned, we did about 20 minutes of photos in the park before Julia and Larry were off to celebrate with friends and family!

Congratulations Larry and Julia on your engagement! And thank you so much for having me be a part of it all!

There’s no better kind of scheming in my book than planning a proposal. Whether intimate or grand, having your proposal photographed is a great way to document the day so you can share, relive and cherish the memories for years to come. If you’re planning a surprise proposal, be sure to read my 8 tips for the perfect surprise proposal before dropping down to one knee!