Proposal · Boston Public Garden
Boston Public Garden Proposal — Tyler & Mariah
"She had absolutely no idea — which was the goal."
- Location
- Boston Public Garden, by the pond
- Cover
- Coffee at Tatte in Back Bay first
- Type
- Surprise proposal + portraits
Tyler came to me weeks before with a secret and a lot of nerves. We planned everything together — timing, location, how to keep it natural — and on the day itself I was tucked out of sight by the pond in the Public Garden.
Read the full story
The cover
The cover story was a coffee date at Tatte in Back Bay, then a walk. That's the kind I like best: it's something they'd do anyway, it puts them a few minutes from the Garden, and it gives me an exact arrival window. That kind of cover gives me an exact arrival window, and I was in position well before they came through the gate.
The moment
He led Mariah down the path, approached the spot we'd picked, and knelt. She had absolutely no idea — which was the goal — and she never knew I was there until it was over. Her reaction, the hug, the celebrating: it's all in the gallery in the order it happened.
Portraits after
We took the long way out for portraits — the garden paths, a kiss, the two of them laughing, a black-and-white of Mariah smiling that might be my favorite frame of the set. Twenty-one photos from one afternoon, and she walked in thinking it was coffee.
If you're planning a proposal at the Public Garden
- A café or a brunch reservation nearby is the easiest cover story in Boston — Back Bay to the Garden is a five-minute walk.
- Text me when you leave. An exact window beats a vague 'around 3'.
- Nerves are normal. By the day you should have nothing left to manage except the question.
- Timing, positions and what to do if it rains are in the Public Garden proposal guide, and proposal photography starts at $699.
