Back in May I received an enquiry from Dan saying he’d found me on Google (thank you to everyone who’s left a review!). He was planning to propose to his girlfriend towards the end of the summer and was looking for a photographer to capture the moment – I jumped at the opportunity to work with him.

Dan doesn’t live close by but had researched a few locations and loved the look of The Temple of Love at the beautiful Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers, NY. Neither of us had been there before so a few weeks prior to the big day I went to scope the area and I’m so glad I did! The spot was beautiful but there were several reasons why I didn’t feel it would work well:

Everyone wants their photo taken there and the area get super busy. I was worried it would be even more crowded on a weekend (I was so right!).

It’s up high and the chances were I wouldn’t be able to see them behind the rocks and railings, even when I zoomed in from my hiding place!

Once down on one knee, Dan would be well and truly hidden!!!

Definitely worth a visit though with stunning views overlooking the Hudson River.

There were so many beautiful spots at the location so I explored the area and took lots of photos, sent them to Dan and we arranged a Zoom call to go through them together.

We agreed on “the” spot and the excitement started to build. After a week of sweltering heat we were relieved to enjoy a beautiful warm evening with gorgeous golden hour light and no humidity. I arrived early and wasn’t surprised to see how busy it was – the location is a photographer’s paradise and I wasn’t the only one with a camera so luckily didn’t stand out with my long lens! The nerves started to build (probably nothing compared to Dan’s!) but I took a deep breath and waited for them to arrive. Following from a distance I soon realized the spot we’d agreed on might not work with so many people around, and Dan clearly had the same thoughts as he started to move in a different direction (cue slight panic!). I stayed positive and knew things would work out as I followed him to this beautiful, quiet and perfect spot close by.

It was such a special moment and of course she said “YES”!

Relaxed and relieved, we were then able to spend time together capturing the excitement and joy for a little longer in the beautiful spots I’d seen before.

Dan, if you read this thank you for trusting me, and I wish you and Marissa a long life together filled with so much love, good health and happiness. It was so much fun planning this with you!

I’ll definitely be going back to Untermyer Gardens in the fall this year. It overlooks the Hudson River and the fall colors are sure to be amazing!