I had the pleasure of capturing my sister-in-law’s surprise proposal. It was so hard to keep this secret from her and not say anything to make her suspicious, but we pulled it off!! Rambo and Kayla have been dating for several years now and we all knew this day would come! Kayla booked a couple’s photoshoot with me because they had never had their portraits taken before and Rambo took hold of this opportunity to propose! There are a lot of things to think about when proposing that it can be overwhelming! Most guys just say they’ll wing it which is totally fine, BUT you definitely need to do some things prior to popping the question. Below is a list of what I think is important to plan the perfect proposal!

TIPS FOR THE MAN

POPPING THE QUESTION

1. Make sure you’ve talked to your girlfriend about marriage, so you know where she stands.

   There is nothing worse than working up the courage to ask your girlfriend to spend the rest of your lives together and you get turned down. Making sure that you two are on the same page before popping the question is SO important that I cannot stress it enough!!

2. Make it meaningful!

   Most girls don’t TRULY care much about the proposal. YES, we are THRILLED that it is happening! But, the important part to us is that it happened!! Plan your proposal around the life style you two love. If you are both super extra and all about the gram, then make your proposal super extra! If you are more laid back, then your proposal should reflect that too! Overall, the important part to a girl is that you, the love of her life, asked her to marry her!

3. Don’t be super trendy

   Trends come and go and yes they are fun to follow along with. Take trends with a grain of salt though and plan your proposal how YOU want to do it! Don’t do something just because it is trendy.

4. Decide if it should be done in public or private.

This is a HUGE decision!! Public and private proposals are both so super sweet! If you are a more personal couple who doesn’t like to flaunt your relationship around, then maybe a private proposal is more your style. If you and your girl are super extra and love having the spot light on you, then try a public proposal!

5.Develop a story.

If you and your girl have been dating for a while, chances are she is thinking about you proposing all the time! Make sure you have a good story to tell her so she is not super suspicious. If you’re going to be meeting with friends and family make sure there is a logical reason why you are hanging out with them. Try to incorporate something you two usually do together or have always wanted to do, so she’s not suspicious!

6. Be careful of who you tell!!

If you don’t want her to find out, i would suggest telling as LITTLE people as possible!! Like I’ve said before, girls are very intuitive and suspicious most of the time. If her best friend looks at her a certain way it could give up the surprise! This point truly relates with me!! My family and I are SUPER close and my boyfriend at the time knew that! So, he opted not to tell anyone but my dad that he was going to propose. He knew that if he told my sister or mom that one strange look or phrase from them that morning would totally give away the wonderful surprise!!

7. Consider their schedule.

If you are proposing in the afternoon, consider what all she has planned for that day. Is she working? Is she doing something she loves? Is she going to be stressed out? Is she usually moody or tired during that time?

8. Dress nice!

It is inevitable that there WILL be pictures taken, so make sure to dress nice. However, if you are not the type to usually dress up, then don’t try to over do it! Be true to you and your style.

9. Have a plan and a BACKUP plan!

We all know that not everything goes as planned. That being said, make sure you have somewhat of a plan but don’t freak out if things change. You cannot control the weather, so if you were planning an outside proposal you will either have to brave the rain (and hope she’s okay with that) or have a dry back up plan.

10. Do your best to have a photographer present.

Capturing this special moment in your lives is super important and you know that your girl is going to what to have it documented. We live in a digital world where pics or it didn’t happen. Hiring a photographer to capture your proposal is important and your girl will be surprised that you thought of it. Your photographer can help you plan your proposal and let you know when they think it would be a good time to propose. They don’t have to be out in the open either if you think that will make your girl suspicious. We can hide in bushes or behind cars to capture that moment without her knowing and giving you your space. Then we can run out afterwards to take some portraits of you and your fiancé for the first time!