Walking to Troy's designated "kneel" spot, time to go, 4 minutes

I love to think of myself as a storyteller first, with photography being my favorite way to weave a story.  So when Troy contacted us with a unique idea, I jumped all over it!

Troy had decided he was ready to propose to his girlfriend.  He had contacted a hotel in Half Moon Bay, was given advice as to where the best spots would be to ask for her hand, had the ring…all he needed was a photographer.

Was so afraid that Christie would notice me shooting this! It was as close as I dared get.

Wait, what?  YES!  I wish more guys would think about asking a photographer to be present for their proposal.  In fact, after Troy contacted us and asked us if we would be there for his, we started to ask around to all our married guy friends and family.  “If you knew you could have hired a photographer to capture you popping the question, would you?”  Every single one said YES!

Did she say yes? Did she say yes?

So Troy in my opinion was a brilliant, thoughtful, romantic guy to even think about having us photograph his proposal.  But then he took it one step further.  He wanted to be sure his girlfriend would not even notice I was there, so that he could give her an enlargement of that special moment as a Christmas present.  This guy was amazing!

We get the permits and permissions, set 4:25 as the “kneel” time, synch our watches, exchanged cell phone for texting last minute messages..and I blatantly start photographing anything I can see.  I’ve got a tripod and a long lens.  Out in full view.  Why?  Because there was no place to hide!  Earlier,  I brainstormed with Troy and said, “Point me out to Christie as soon as you two see me.  Ask “what do you think she’s doing?  Hey, maybe she’s with the hotel…” Then, you get who I am and what I may be doing out of the way instead of me being the white elephant in the room!”  He agreed!

She sure did! Congrats Troy & Christie!

You could not have asked for a better sunset sky, and given that it was the end of December, someone up there had their eye on Troy, that’s for sure!  She indeed said yes, and they continued to watch the sunset together.  Beautiful.

I’m so honored that I was there to capture it for them – and I hope I’m there when the big day comes, too!

Guys, repeat after me – get the ring, get the photographer, then take a deep breath…and do it!  To book us as your proposal-azzi, call Brooke at 408-369-1783. Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!!!

Not five minutes after she said yes, the sky exploded in reds and pinks and oranges!

PS, please, don’t ask me where these images were taken.  The hotel had given us permission and suggested locations, but unfortunately, that suggested location was not on hotel property.  It was just an oversight, not intentional, on the part of the hotel employee.  So to protect both properties, and the poor lady who was just trying to help, I’m afraid I can’t give out the name of the location.