A few weeks ago, I received an intriguing text message from my friend Katie in San Diego, “would you wanna do an hour long photoshoot for my friend this weekend? I’ll call you in 10 minutes.”  As those 10 minutes passed I thought of all the things this photoshoot might be. Who was this friend? Did they live in Chicago or San Diego? Did they want me to go to San Diego for the shoot? What will I be shooting?

Come to find out Katie did not know much about the shoot, just that it was in Chicago. She told me it was her friend Gretchen who needed a photographer and how to get in touch with her.

After speaking with Gretchen, I learned the photoshoot was for her friend Josh. He was proposing to his girlfriend that weekend and wanted a photographs of the event. I was beyond thrilled to learn this. Shooting a surprise engagement had been on my photographer’s bucket list for a while, and now I was finally getting the chance to do it! Needless to say, I contacted Josh right away. 

After corresponding and going over the plan details I knew a few things- 1) Josh is good people, 2) This is the strangest way I have ever acquired a photography job and I loved it 3) I was so pumped for this shoot!

Cut to Saturday, 1/2 hour before the shoot. I am at the park where the proposal is set to happen. Just my luck, there is a classical guitarist performing in the park! I start speaking with him and learn his name is Brian. He was more than thrilled to hear about Josh’s plan to propose to his girlfriend in the same park we found ourselves. His enthusiasm left him with a desire to contribute, he offered to play romantic music for the proposal.

As I waited for Josh and his soon to be finance (Lindsey) to arrive, I chatted with a few more patrons in the park. They were beyond excited to soon witness such a precious, once in a lifetime moment. The park was soon filled with an energy of excitement, it was the perfect setting for a proposal. Take a look at Josh & Lindsey’s story.