Brittany & Alex

a marriage proposal at Magens Bay beach

OKAY, WHERE TO BEGIN THIS STORY?

It all started with an email from Alex. His lovely girlfriend, Brittany, was joining his family on their cruise and he wanted to know if I could assist him with finding a photographer and setting up a proposal on the beach.

LITTLE DID HE KNOW THAT I LIVE FOR INTRIGUE, AND COME-TO-FIND-OUT, SO DOES SAVANAH LOFTUS, PHOTOGRAPHER AND HIDER-IN-THE-BUSHES-EXTRAORDINARIE, WHO CAPTURED IT ALL.

Alex had the cutest idea of a photo collage that somehow said, “Will you marry me?” So at each port of their cruise, he surreptitiously took a photo of himself and Brittany with a different pose for each word. Check out the photo below:

Wedding proposal picture idea.

WILL … YOU … MARRY … ME?

Get it? I seriously grinned each day, all day, with anticipation getting these pics in my inbox and having them printed.

Now, back to how it all went down -surprises are great, but I caution all of my clients, when there are professional photographers involved, you MUST make sure the surprisee is looking his or her best. So if you’re planning to do somethig like this, you’ve got to make sure there’s a cover story.

In this case, I reminded Alex, that as lovely as his (if-all-goes-to-plan) bride-to-be may look sans makeup, he couldn’t just drop this bomb on the beach and let Brittany show up in vacation clothes or sweats.

His concern was his family…apparently, they are known for their loose lips, and being that they were cruising into port, the potential for sinking ships was real.

Instead, he told the entire group that he was surprising his mom (who ironically is the only other person who knew the truth) with a family photography session.

NOTE: IF YOU GO THIS ROUTE, YOUR SIBLINGS WILL HATE YOU (TEMPORARILY) FOR STEPPING UP THE PARENTS GIFT GAME.

On P-day…that’s proposal day, the whole crew disembarked from the ship and headed to Magens Bay beach on a safari taxi where photographer, Savanah Loftus, and I were waiting…in the bushes … ready to pounce. Okay, okay, I wasn’t in the bushes. I was waiting for them on the beach with my camera – pretending to be the family photos photographer, but Savanah was in the bushes.

And because my planning skills are amazing, as we were getting ‘set up’, an errant cloud swept in, so we decided to ‘wait’ for it to pass – the perfect opportunity for Alex to walk ahead of the group with Brittany to ‘check out the beach’.

Magens Bay Beach wedding proposal.

So here’s the scene: Alex and Brittany, walking along the beach when he spies a large conch shell, washed ashore in the little “grassy” area on the left side of Magens Bay beach and he comments something like “Hey, babe, look at that big ole shell!” She cautiously goes to investigate. City girls never know what kinds of creatures are living in shells. “Wait, what’s this?” Just beyond the shell, a photo frame, with pictures… OF THEM …something’s clearly up. And when she turns back to him, he’s on one knee, ring in hand as a gentle rain began…cue all the swooning and tears.

She said yes, guy proposes to girlfriend at Magens Bay Beach.
I still smile from ear to ear thinking about the proposal, how perfect the moment was, how as soon as they were out of earshot one of the guys wryly commented that “Alex is probably off proposing.” Boy was he shocked when I said, “Well actually, he is.”
Marriage proposal on the beach during cruise to St. Thomas.
Emerald cut diamond engagement ring.
Emerald cut diamond engagement ring.

After SHE SAID YES it as time for many hugs, lots of congratulations, and some celebratory champagne.

And it was the perfect time to get the freshest engagement photos possible!

Champagne after getting engaged on the beach in St. Thomas.
Tropical engagement photo session on the beach.
Dreamy engagement beach photography session.
Engagement photo session on Magens Bay beach in St. Thomas.
Coconut with paper straws as a drink cup on the beach.
Tropical fruit platter on the beach
Fiance feeds fiance grapes at tropical themed engagement photography session.
Happily Ever After wedding sign.
Engagement photography by Savanah Loftus.

I want to thank you so much for making our engagement so wonderful. That day was perfect, we couldn’t have asked for anything better!! We literally cannot stop smiling. When we get around to the planning part, there is a good chance you might hear from us again! We aren’t talking plans just yet, but a destination wedding is something that we have always talked about and St. Thomas is beautiful.

– Brittany & Alex

Engagement photography session at Magens Bay Beach planned by Blue Sky Ceremony.

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