John’s surprise marriage proposal to his girlfriend Diana at the High Line in New York City took many months of planning. When, where and how? There was one thing that John knew for sure. He knew that Diana was a big fan of mine so he wanted me to be there to document that very special moment without her finding out that I was there.  When John first approached me to photograph his proposal, my first inclination was,”I’d love to”. However, when John informed me that his girlfriend Diana was a fan of mine, it immediately drew up red flags for me.

First off, marriage proposals, even if the girl thinks they know or suspects when it’s going to happen, they truly never know exactly when. And more times than not, they are surprised. This surprise reaction is what we as photographers want to capture for the couple. It’s also what I’ve become really good at. However, when they spot a professional photographer following them around, well…. it’s a dead giveaway. It becomes even more challenging when they know exactly who you are.  Just Youtube “failed proposals” and there are countless ones out there. Once the girl sees the photographer…. their reaction to the proposal changes.  For me, I always want to capture the moment in it’s rawest form so knowing that Diana would immediately recognize me, I told John that attempting to document his surprise proposal might not be the best idea. After several emails going back and forth and ideas that I thought would work, John finally convinced me that it would all work out in photographing his proposal.

On the day of the proposal, the plan was for me to secretly rendezvous at Chelsea Piers to capture the couple enjoying a picnic. After photographing the picnic, I would head over to The High Line to our designated proposal spot to wait for them and capture the big moment. The plan pretty much went off without a hitch but we did have a minor close call. Normally when I photograph proposals, I do this solo. But because I feared that Diana would possibly recognize me, I brought my assistant with me this time and she acted as my model. It actually worked like a charm because, as I feared, Diana did in fact recognize me. Although she recognized me, Diana had no idea that I was actually photographing them because it looked as though I was on a photo shoot with another client.

After the shots of the picnic, I then proceeded to The High Line. The rest was up to John. As you can see by the images, I think he did pretty well. Congrats to Diana and John! I look forward to their wedding. Enjoy!

BTW… Did I mention that it was probably one the windiest day of the year?

© Josh Wong Photography

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Engagement and proposal pictures by NYC Proposal and wedding photographer Josh Wong.

Danny proposes to Irene at Bryant Park, New York City
May 20, 2011

The weather has been very strange in New York City the past few weeks. There seemed to be a consistent dosage of rain falling from the heavens. But for Danny, he had his heart set on proposing to Irene on this day. So rain or shine… It was going to happen. And rain or shine… I was going to be there with him, at least from a distance and undercover, to capture the moment. Danny had chosen Bryant Park as the proposal spot because it was one of Irene’s very favorite parks in the city when she lived here a few years ago. Because they currently live in Pittsburgh, a 6-hour drive, it was only fitting to return here. Below are some of the captured moments of the marriage proposal. Enjoy!

© Josh Wong Photography

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