i remember vividly how excited i was when andrew contacted me about helping him plan & capture his proposal to tamra on their trip to orlando. andrew had a few ideas, and i was thrilled to be able to work with him to set up a wonderful proposal for tamra.
if you’ve never seen ‘how to train your dragon,’ this adorable little guy is toothless, the main dragon in the movie, which is one of tamra’s favorites. andrew actually found an artist on etsy who makes plushes and had this toothless plush commissioned just for the proposal. after a lot of plotting between the two of us, andrew managed to get the plush, with the ring box tied around his neck, to the cast members at the polynesian, where the managers hung onto it until i got there to set up.
andrew had never been to the polynesian, but when the beach & disney were his two top ideas for proposal locations, i knew luau beach would be the perfect spot. once i picked up the plush & ring, i went to set them up on the swing at luau beach, and then (after some glamour shots of toothless & the ring), i guarded that swing (from my position crouching behind a bush!) as andrew & i texted back an forth about how far away they were.
having only the photos i’d texted him to go off of for location and the knowledge that he was looking for the swing on the beach, andrew had to convince tamra that their table at the kona cafe wasn’t ready yet (the reservation wasn’t actually for another hour) and that they should go for a walk – despite that fact that it had turned out to be the coldest day we’ve had here in something like four years.
once they got to the luau beach area, i saw them coming and ducked down, but then lost sight of them for a few minutes. when i popped up to try to see where the were, tamra actually saw me, but thankfully she thought i was just some sort of crazy person staying in the hotel and ignored me. phew. it turns out that they had walked the long way around because andrew was unsure where they were going, but when he spotted the swing, he said something along the lines of ‘hey, i see something over there, let’s go look.’ tamra thought he was also crazy since they were way too far away for him to see something on the swing, but she listened anyway. i think as soon as she saw toothless, she realized what was going on.
yeah, she said yes. <3
after a quick introduction, we went back into the lobby to take some engagement photos since it was so cold outside!
once we’d warmed up for a minutes, we snapped a few more quick shots outside on the rope bridge.
after a few more shots with toothless, the happy couple headed off to celebrate at their real dinner reservation.
andrew, thanks for letting me be your co-conspirator on such an important day, and tamra, thank you for being such a good sport when a crazy person in two coats came out of the bushes to take your engagement pictures. you guys are so awesome, and i know that you’ve got many wonderful years ahead. <3
orlando florida proposal photographer – e. gilbert photography
recently engaged? congratulations! check out my ‘beginner’s guide to e. gilbert photography’ for lots of info & handy links!
other posts you might enjoy:
– stephanie & adam {hogsmeade engagement session}
– patty & cade {vintage candy shoppe & batman engagement session}
– juliana & glenn {nerdy shakespeare center wedding}
