George & Alyce

Wow, wow, wow. Where to begin?

In our time as wedding photographers and videographers on the lovely island of Aruba, we have gotten to witness some great—no, awesome!—stories of couples taking the next step in their lives together. Today I will be telling the story of a proposal that had me crying, and we were there to capture it all.

We get to form integral parts of weddings, proposals, engagement shoots, family shoots, and whatnot, but none quite as unique as the day George popped the question and asked Alyce to marry him.

You see, George had asked Alyce to marry him before, but she was not quite ready yet. Alyce had some challenges to face, and George would stand right beside her every step of the way.

And then, the time was right. Alyce was ready, and George was willing and able. So they booked a nice romantic couples vacation to Aruba. Alyce suspected that something was up, and oh boy, something was.

A while before traveling to Aruba, George sought out Marielle from Proposal Planner Aruba to come up with a plan to propose to Alyce. After a lot of brainstorming, planning, and preparations, it was time.

George booked an “island tour” with “a bunch of guys” who happen to be photographers & videographers (this is where we came in). So we arrived and picked them up to explore Aruba’s wilder side and take a few pictures along the way.

Here she must have suspected that something was up, but Marielle and George surmised as much and found a way to remedy that.

A MISSION OF MISDIRECTION

We arrived at the first location, the ruins of an old gold smelter with great rustic aesthetics on the northern coast of Aruba, called Bushiribana, where Marielle was waiting. Before Alyce was allowed into the ruins, though, she had to put on a blindfold.

After being guided through the ruins, they came to a standstill. We could see the excitement on her face. “This is it…he’s going to propose!” she must have thought. When she took off the blindfold, she was surprised by George…standing there—not for the proposal, but rather to surprise her for her birthday with a few balloons.

Of course, we don’t mean just a few balloons. I mean, it was a nice-looking setup, just not what Alyce expected. It was the day before her birthday, after all, and the first mission of misdirection succeeded.

We did get to take some great photographs and video, and they looked absolutely stunning, but Alyce was not aware that there was more to follow.

GOOD FORTUNE

Next stop…Ayo Rock Formations, one of our favorite locations. Not beachy at all, but rather rustic and wild. (Aruba has so much more to offer than just white sandy beaches!) So we walked through the site, talked a bit about the ancient history of Aruba, the Pre-Columbian era, and had a good ol’ time. One of our team members was “struggling” with some of the gear, and we asked if George could “help him out.” In the meantime, we decided to take some solo portraits of Alyce on top of a nice-sized rock.

When George returned, he was carrying a little tray with some fortune cookies. “What is this?” Alyce must have thought. “This is the moment he will propose to me! We are getting engaged!”

So, George gave her the first cookie, and Alyce opened it. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me,” it said. The next one said, “I am so proud of you,” and the third said, “To celebrate the person you are, I’ve made reservations at Passions on the Beach.”

There she stood. Happy. Confused. She must have thought, “Why tell me where we are going for dinner like that? Sweet, but, why?!?” The second mission of misdirection accomplished.

THE GRAND FINALE

After passing by a few more locations, taking pictures, having fun, we arrived at Eagle Beach, Aruba’s award-winning beach. The “unsuspecting” couple was received by Marielle from Proposal Planner Aruba once more. Now, George was blindfolded, after which Alyce was also blindfolded. Why both, though, right? It’s all about misdirection, my friend.

George took off his blindfold, and they guided Alyce onto the beach. Proposal Planner Aruba had arranged a setup with flowers, lanterns, and a violinist, pulling all the stops, because this was the moment—George would go down onto one knee and ask Alyce to marry him.

Alyce heard the violinist, asked if there was a wedding going on, still somewhat confused as to what was going on, but this didn’t last long. Cue the waterworks!!

The blindfold came off, and there George was, down on one knee with a ring in his hands and giving the best speech I’ve ever heard. A sunset sky explosion, champagne, puppies, tears, smiles, and the best proposal we have ever witnessed.

We witnessed a masterclass in building up tension for your proposal. It was the perfect 3-step master plan to pop the question during a Caribbean getaway vacation.