Surprise Proposal at Portland International Rose Test Garden | Oregon Photographer | Teagann Blythe Photography
Planning your own surprise proposal near or in Portland Oregon? Contact me & inquire about your own engagement photo session here!
Here is how it went…
This incredibly beautiful surprise proposal at the Portland International Rose Test Garden was a tear-jerker to say the LEAST!
Let me take you along through the entire story of how H + J’s magical proposal came to be and some behind-the-scenes tidbits for the photos that were taken.📸
Both H + J’s families were traveling to Portland in what J believed was for a simple & fun family vacation…(but little did she know) Hehe.😉
So, H and his family reached out to me in hopes of finding a photographer local to Portland Oregon that could be at the location to capture the moments that unfolded while H popped the big question!💍
I don’t know about you (if you’re a fellow photog, you may understand) but I am ALWAYS SO ECSTATIC to plan surprise proposals. It is one of my most favorite sessions to photograph—ever!
The excitement and adrenaline that you feel waiting for them to walk to THE “spot” and then watching them finally get down on one knee, and knowing allll those emotions are about to start flowing…it’s just such a beautiful thing be be apart of and to witness.
SETTING UP
I arrived to the Portland Rose Garden about 45 minutes before the scheduled proposal time to make sure I was at the exact correct location and to clock-in my camera settings so I could be ready to go when the time came.
As a few moments passed, I finally ran into & met H + J’s families in person! We all started setting up the proposal props to create a romantic, warmly-lit & personalized proposal setting for these two love birds.🕊️
We started with placing the “Marry Me” letters at the top of the steps, then laid her flower bouquet nearby, we lined the steps with yellow LED candles (safety first cause we’re not trying to set anything on fire—lol!😂 and lastly, we sprinkled red rose petals all up and down the stunning garden staircase.
PROPOSAL TIME
When we were all done setting up and there were about 10 minutes left before proposal time came, H + J’s family went to go hide themselves amongst the garden aisles where they would wait patiently for H + J to start walking around the corner and up the steps…
Where was I?…I stayed very close and pretended to be an oblivious random person just taking photos of some nearby roses. Nothing to see here.😆
And that’s when I spotted H + J.
As they walked closer I made sure to keep one eye in my viewfinder (you know, committing to the oblivious bystander role) and kept my other eye on them to make sure that when he started walking up the stairs, I was ready to GO.
What felt like minutes that had gone by, H + J finally walked passed me and started their way up the rose petal covered stairs, and I hopped straight into shooting mode:
AFTER THE PROPOSAL
After the proposal, I always make sure to give my couples some very necessary “alone” time to really give them the opportunity to truly soak in this special special moment before I jump in and start introducing myself and moving on to the next portion of the photo session which are the more “posed” mini engagement portraits.
Once I do go up and officially introduce myself, I give them a biggg hug, (wipe away maybe one or two tears that I was trying to hold back too, sorry—emotional girly here), congratulate them & tell them what I have in mind for the next portion of their mini engagement session!📸
Normally their adrenaline is running so fast I’m not even sure they hear the words coming out of my mouth or know what I’m saying, but they agree nonetheless!😂
Now for the posed + prompted Mini Engagement Session:
One of my favorite prompts for couples (especially for the first few photos) to help them ease into their session is to simply have them walk hand-in-hand towards and away from me.
I tell them to just look at each other, the ground, or their surroundings and enjoy a small walk side by side where they can share smiles, laughs, or even a couple of twirls if they want!❤️
I find this helps them get some anxious energy out by giving them a small activity to do where they can “forget” that they’re having their portraits taken for a bit.
HOW TO CAPTURE AUTHENTIC MOMENTS:
My style of photography is 20% posed & 80% candid + documentary-styled + fly-on-the-wall approach.
I find when I give my couples a prompt like the following “airplane into bear hug” it again gives them something to do, making it easier to capture those AUTHENTIC and beautiful moments where they’re truly smiling, laughing, and enjoying each other, without paying too much attention to specific poses or looking “perfect” for the camera.
PHOTOGS, REMEMBER: The more comfortable you make your couples, the more comfortable-feeling, true and real their photos are going to turn out. When your couples feel uncomfortable, the photos will feel uncomfortable.
Be sure to always be aware of the energy you’re bringing to a session. If you’re in a bad mood or uncertain of the poses & prompts that you’re using your clients will feel that and feed off of it.
It is so, SO IMPORTANT to give positive & reassuring feedback throughout the session: “Wow, that looks great!” or “Awww, you two are doing perfect and you’re going to love these!” can go a long way in helping your couples feel calm, safe & confident—which in turn helps YOU capture the best possible photos for them that they’ll be incredibly happy with, forever.
We then had a small intermission where H + J caught up with and talked to their entire family, exchanging hugs + kisses, laughs, and smiles together.
WRAPPING UP
We then made our way over to our last location in the Rose Garden to take some seated bench photos along with some detail shots of J’s beautifully stunning engagement ring!
THE END!
And that’s a wrap! I had such an incredibly memorable time with these two lovely humans and their families this day. I am always so so honored to be able to witness and capture memories like this. It truly makes my heart swell.
To forever and always, H + J!
PLANNING YOUR OWN SURPRISE PROPOSAL?
If you’re planning your own surprise proposal in the Portland Oregon area, feel free to reach out to me and we’ll hop on a phone or video call to go over all necessary details and plan an incredible and memorable proposal + engagement session for you and your lover.
You can contact me & inquire here.
FELLOW PHOTOGS:
ALL of my camera settings and gear for this photoshoot will be linked down below for you as well!
Remember to leave any comments or questions that you may have down below.
— Teagann Blythe Photography
PHOTOSHOOT DETAILS
LOCATION:
The International Rose Test Garden in Portland Oregon
Time of day: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
CAMERA GEAR:
Camera Body: Nikon D750
Camera Lens: Sigma 35mm f1.4
CAMERA SETTINGS:
ISO: 100
SHUTTER SPEED: (for Proposal) = 1/250 seconds (for prompted + walking shots) = 1/800 seconds
APERTURE: (for Proposal) = f / 3.5 (for prompted + walking shots) = f / 2.0
PHOTO EDITING SOFTWARE:
Preset Used: Coming Soon
