The Details
September 7th 2023
Orchard Glen Park
The park in fargo where everything took place
White House Co.
White House Co. Provided the beautiful picnic that you'll see later on
@whitehouse.co
Grace Bakes Cake
If you need a beautiful cake with a fast turnaround time Grace is your girl!
@grace.bakescake
Floret & Foliage
Floret provided a beautiful arrangement for Mariana to use in the photos!
@floretandfoliage
September 7th 2023
How it Started
August 17th 2023
How it Started
August 17th 2023
Oliver texted me Thursday August 17th "what are you doing September 7th" and that is what started it all! We had texted back and forth before about rings and ideas but it was finally happening! Our original modeling idea was the photo above!
Switching Gears
September 4th 2023
Switching Gears
September 4th 2023
Our original idea was to try and get Oliver and Mari to model in a couples shoot in a canoe. The only problem was we have NO water in Fargo so we would have to drive an hour away. This wasn't going to work so we switched gears! This was my next Inspo pic!
Final vision comes to life
September 7th 2023
Final vision comes to life
September 7th 2023
Once we had our vision locked down everything came into place! We had an amazing team of people that created this with us!
The Plan
Our Plan for the "surprise" was pretty funny actually. Oliver & Mari were leaving for Europe the week of the proposal. Oliver wanted this trip to be a celebration of their engagement. I had asked him "why don't you just propose in Europe?" and in true Oliver fashion he said "Because that's what everyone does and she deserves something different." I actually loved this answer so we got to planning!
The Plan
I was going to text Mariana and say I was going to do a floral photoshoot for a local florist called Floret & Foliage. I told her I had someone else but they backed out to make it even more believable. Mariana has modeled for me multiple times before so this wasn't a huge thing to her.i would pick her up and we would start at one park and then finish the night at orchard glen where gavin had his camera set up. I told her I'd pick her up and everything and we could pick out her outfit together to best match the vibe of the shoot!
The day of
Picnic
I picked up the picnic from White House co. I gave them the idea and colors and they ran with it and did amazing! Nanny Oliver's amazing friend made the strawberries and treats! I brought all of this to the park with my husband and sister and set it up exactly how we wanted it! My sister even babysat it until everyone could show up!
picnic & cake
Florals
Allison from Floret & Foliage was another person I gave a color scheme to and let her do her thing. The most amazing part of hiring professionals is knowing you can trust them to create something amazing from a few simple descriptors. I picked this bouquet up right before the picnic and Allison already had it in a vase and boxed up for me!
Floret & Foliage
Cake
When I had originally contacted the White House co girls about the picnic they couldn't rave enough about their employee Grace and her amazing cakes. When I looked at her work I couldn't agree more! This cake not only looked amazing but also tasted great!! She is seriously SO talented!
The cake
The Day of
The Ring
I had asked Mariana quite awhile ago what kind of ring she wanted. I was able to tell that to Oliver and he created this gorgeous ring on Blue Nile. We were a little nervous that it wasn't going to come in time but we were super lucky that it did! I seriously don't think he could have designed a better ring. It is extremely timeless and gorgeous.
The Ring
Mariana's Outfit
After setting up the picnic I went to pick up Mariana to "model" it was extremely convenient that they were going to Europe and she had a ton of new dresses to choose from. I had told her that this was a bridal shoot and when she pulled out this dress and tried it on she looked AMAZING! We left to our first location after that! with just the two of us!
Mariana's outfit
The drive to the proposal
The plan was to have Oliver standing behind a tree. Once Gavin was in place with video and Oliver was behind the tree we would head over! I don't know how I did it but I convinced Mariana to wait for me cue to walk up because "Gavin had to be set" so she waited till I called to her to walk up the hill. It was absolutely perfect when Oliver popped out!
The drive
The Proposal
It's Happening!!
Here was the exact moment it was happening. Orchard Glen park Is situated on a hill. I had Mariana at the bottom of the hill and around the corner. Once I knew I had a good angle and everyone was ready I yelled at her to come up and sway her skirt for a wide shot for Gavin. It turned out to be one of my favorite photos of the day!
It Happened!!
Oliver came out from behind the tree and it was probably the most shocked I have ever seen Mariana. I was 100% she she would be on to us but we somehow pulled it off! If you keep scrolling you can see everything on camera. It turned out to be so beautiful!
Post proposal sunset photos
After this proposal we popped a bottle of champagne and soaked in the GORGEOUS sunset! It was a serious dream! We got some amazing photos out of it that I am still swooning over!
The end of the night
Oliver & Mariana
Something that someone once told me that has always resonated with me is that when you get proposed to in that moment it is the most you have ever been loved. You know that 100% someone loved you more than anything in the world. This is why I love capturing this moment for people!
We finished the night off with enjoying the gorgeous picnic and calling all of Mariana and Oliver's friends and family! We could't have asked for better weather and circumstances for this shoot!
Gavin's proposal video
This is actually Gavin's first video of a proposal and I think he did a phenomenal job! The music, coloring, and angles created such a cinematic video. This is something that will be cherished forever and would be an amazing video to show at your wedding!
