Vancouver is a popular tourist destination for visitors from all over the world, and especially the United States. A few weeks ago, I received an email inquiry from Darian who was going to be vacationing in Vancouver with his girlfriend Lauren for 48 hours. They both love to hike and be outdoors, so Darian wanted to take advantage of Vancouver’s natural backdrop to propose!

Organizing an engagement proposal photo shoot is quite different from a regular engagement session, especially when the person proposing isn’t familiar with Vancouver. I played the guide, sharing a map of Lighthouse Park, using dropped pins, visuals, and real-time iPhone locations on the proposal day. To make sure everything went smoothly, I got there well ahead of time, waiting for Darian and Lauren to arrive for their trail walk.

When Darian got down on one knee by the water, Lauren was genuinely surprised! She didn’t expect a proposal during their trip, but she was happy she’d gotten her nails done in Texas before leaving. :) After the proposal, we spent about 15 minutes taking more pictures, and then I left them alone to enjoy the sunset views in their newly-engaged bliss.

Sooo many uncontrollable details go into being a Vancouver Engagement Proposal Photographer. This is the iconic lighthouse view, but there was no feasible way for me to hide from view and capture the proposal with this background in real time. Instead, I made a day-of call to choose an all-water background and prioritize getting the moment in all of it’s emotion! Then, at the end of the session, we recreated it with the perfect view. (I’m not usually a fan of “re-creations” in candid photography, but sometimes, it’s worth doing!)