Joel reached out to me a few weeks before visiting Vancouver and explained to me how he wanted to surprise his future fiance, Caitlin. He had been researching locations for a surprise engagement in Vancouver and stumbled upon Stanley Park as one of a few locations. A friend had mentioned the Stanley Park Tea House and that the beach just below it might be a good place. Having photographed in the area in the past I knew which beach he was talking about so we planned out how the surprise engagement might happen.
Being from Alberta Joel had never been to the beach in person so I sent him a map with an ‘x’ on it showing him approximately where I thought he might want to propose. Surprise proposals are always fun because they don’t always go as planned! Joel & Caitlin showed up on the day and I simply followed them from a distance and watched as things played out. He was apparently so nervous that he forgot his cell phone in the taxi (which he later had returned to him). Joel & Caitlin were a joy to photograph. I could tell how much they loved each other in between and even during my shooting. They took very little coaching to get these photos. Hope you enjoy the set below as much as I enjoyed capturing them.
