I had the pleasure of photographing a Wegerzyn Gardens marriage proposal in Dayton Ohio. We had a 30-minute window between rain showers to make this happen. It went perfectly, and she said “yes!”
Three weeks before the proposal, the groom-to-be contacted me through my website indicating he would propose to his girlfriend. We worked out the details, and he signed the contract. Over the next few weeks, we discussed broad and specific engagement locations. He ultimately settled on Wegerzyn Gardens.
A few days prior to the surprise, the groom and I had a quick call. He decided to propose in the middle of the tree alley at Wegerzyn. To make the surprise work, I asked him to use the main entrance to the park. This way, I would be less conspicuous and at the correct angle for photography. We walked through how it would work and the timing for everything.
A few hours prior to the proposal, he shared his iPhone location with me. Once I arrived at the park, I watched his iPhone as they approached. When he was 5 minutes out, I made my way into the park. At go time, I watched as they rounded the corner into the tree alley. I was pretending to take photos of the flowers in the park. I then turned as he began talking to his girlfriend. As he knelt on one knee, I got in position to be able to see both of their faces. I photographed the 2-minute proposal, which was awesome. We finished the last 28 minutes the rain began to come down. What a great time!