Romantic Petoskey Pier Proposal y | Petoskey, Michigan

jeannie + jesse

When I received the initial email from Jesse asking if I'd photograph his proposal on a Pier in Petoskey Michigan, I was intrigued and a little skeptical. He proceeded to tell me that he and his girlfriend were from Pennsylvania, but he had concocted a plan to get her to come along on a "business trip" of his so they could visit one of their favorite spots, and the exact location they exchanged their first "I love you's". This was the spot he wanted to confess his love, and ask her to marry him.

My inner softy was beaming with excitement. What a special moment to document. I couldn't wait! He gave me coordinates, checked past weather forecasts to make sure that days weather would (hopefully) be perfect, and did all the homework necessary to make sure it would go off without a hitch. And want to know how he found me? His girlfriend is also a photographer, and with some detective work, he saw that her Instagram photography account followed mine, so assumed she was a fan of my work. I mean, c'mon! How perfectly sneaky! And smart!

And then it gets even better. Jesse had 6 dozen roses shipped directly to me, to lay out forming a path to where he wanted to get down on one knee. Two dozen yellow to start, followed by two dozen pink, followed by two dozen red leading into a heart shaped of roses - the colors symbolizing memorable milestones in their relationship.

I enlisted my Mom to come along, as I knew I'd need assistance with all the roses, and to help alert tourists of what was to come. The town of Petoskey is quite small, and there were a few moments we had passed each other walking the street shops beforehand. I made sure to flock under the radar and she never suspected a thing. Jesse and I texted each other updates as his "client", and when the roses were placed and they had wrapped up dinner, I gave him the go-ahead to meander my way.

I tried to stay as inconspicuous as possible as they strolled towards me, camera ready. Jeannie spotted the trail of roses and looked up at Jesse - later confessing to me she thought they were invading someone else's special moment.

There were several bystanders who knew all of what was going down - a small crowd lurking to watch the love story unfold. You could tell when it dawned on Jeannie this was all for her, and it was right when she stepped into the heart shaped of roses - and Jesse pointing out the bench where they said "I love you", for the first time. No one was close enough to hear anything, but you could tell from reactions it was all sorts of cuteness - and then he got down on one knee. My Mom was in tears, the bystanders were sniffling, and even I was losing focus a bit. It was so romantic, you guys! After they shared their moment, we had a mini post-proposal session before they went off to enjoy their evening as a newly engaged couple. :)

Fast forward a few weeks. I had delivered Jeannie & Jesse's proposal gallery, and not long after they requested if I'd fly out to Pennsylvania to photograph their October wedding. I said YES! I am looking forward to closing out my 2017 wedding season with their I Do's!

This job never gets old.