Nicolette & James | Orlando Proposal Photographer

Capturing surprise proposals has kind of become a specialty of mine and I must say I absolutely LOVE it! Don’t get me wrong, of course I looooove capturing weddings too, but the thing I enjoy most about photographing proposals is that, unlike weddings, the guy is the one planning it. Weddings tend to be mostly driven by the bride and the day being “all about her” and while the proposal is too (us girls are so spoiled)… the fact that it’s the boyfriend going out of his way to make it amazing just melts my heart.

James was certainly no exception and I was so impressed by all the planning he put in to make this proposal AMAZING for his beautiful girlfriend Nicolette. He contacted me a couple of weeks prior to ensure it was all documented on camera and explained his elaborate story. He had elicited help from a couple of their friends and set up a pretend double date to take a nighttime boat tour from the Grand Floridian resort in Orlando to watch the Disney fireworks. This way Nicolette wouldn’t be suspicious because they were going with friends. He also made sure to setup a manicure date for her and her girlfriend in advance so her nails would look spot on for the ring! Such a smart guy.

When the time came for the boat tour, their friends would call with an emergency and cancel… and surprise, surprise– they’d be on the boat tour alone (kind of)! Of course I had to be there to join them for the big moment as well so I put on a cheesy smile and pretended to be a “Disney photographer” joining them for the ride to capture photos that they could purchase later. It may have sounded a bit unusual, but hey Disney is always out to make a buck so it wasn’t really that far fetched! LOL

Nicolette totally went along with it and as soon as the Wishes fireworks show started over the water, James suggested they open fortune cookies he had “picked up at dinner”. Since they had their first date at a sushi restaurant, the fortune cookies were pretty appropriate. Only he had written a sweet little message in her fortune cookie asking her to marry him!! Of course she said yes and they popped champagne and cuddled under the fireworks as official fiancees. <3

It was such a pleasure to capture this awesome moment in their relationship and I’m super honored James allowed me to be a part of it! I hope you enjoy some of my fave images from their surprise proposal below…

[Engagement Ring: Kay Jewelers]

The unsuspecting future bride posing for a pic before boarding the boat ;-)