A Surprise Wedding Proposal at Portland Bill, Dorset
How did this all begin?
George first contacted me via my website after find some of my work online, I had previously photographed a surprise proposal and he was in the market for something similar. He told me himself and his parter Maddie both love the coast and have some and memories together at Portland Bill in Dorset. His vision to visit here again one day and propose, and to be honest it’s a lovely location and ive been there many times taking photos myself on a day off. The idea was have a composition where the sea and the lighthouse where in the background and Maddie was to not have a clue about what was happening, the hard part.
Some details on how we approached this.
In order for this to be a success George had to be secretive ( great considering he’s getting married) and I had to be waiting for them at the right location and the right time. We spent a couple weeks messing and it even progressed to a sneaky what’s app. We set a time and a day and George had the ring ready and hidden away. With a photoshoot like this outfits can make or break the whole set of photos, George was open to advice on what to wear, but Im not sure if he literally dressed Maddie in the morning or fluked it. Either way this all worked out and the colours all worked together well in the coastal scene.
How I approached this as a photographer.
For myself taking photos is a task, but being somewhere Im not meant to be at the right time was another. Driving from Taunton to Portland I parked my car up and noticed the weather had become, questionable. The type of weather where you think “it was at this moment……” the rest you can say in your head. Considering it was late May I was thinking how? The one time!!! I arrived about 20mins early and walked to the rocky area that looked back towards the lighthouse and I was the only person there. There was a light breeze and it’s now raining, i’m also thinking please turn up. George and myself agreed I would were a yellow jacket, and I would pretend to just be a photographer at the beach taking photos. He would see me a long way off and know where to head to. This set im of images was taken on my Nikon D850 and 35mm Sigma Art Lens.
The proposal part explained.
George and Maddie and walked themselves into the correct area, while Maddie was looking out sea he made very brief eye contact me and I have a shuttle nod to say, yes. While they both had there backs towards me I slowly walked closer and closer, to the point George just knew this was it. Dropping down onto one knee Maddie just smiling and stared making girlie eeeking noises, she glanced left towards me like WTF but smiled as she knew what George had planned, and she said yes! She gave George a big kiss and he picked her up, I walked in a little closer just clicking while not even looking through my viewfinder. On this this day because of the weather there was nobody else around, just us three in the wind and drizzle on Portland Bill.
What happened afterwards.
We had achieved the main objective, and after a quick look all of my photos were in focus, the ones that mattered anyway. At worse ( and its never happened ) we could have re taken the shot, but it didn't. George introduced me to Maddie, I met George and we explained how all of this came into light. I explained a little why how I got here and that George wanted this moment to be remembered in a way they look back at physically later in life. Now the proposal part took about 5mins, it was over in a flash and I said I would happily get some shots of them together for 45 mins in and around the area afterwards. Maddie wasn’t scared off and George was going to be a husband. We walked up and around the beach huts on the grassy area with simple poses and I tried to keep the lighthouse in the back. As it was over cast I could shoot in any direction and didn’t have to worry about harsh light. During this time they just came to terms with their life decision and they loved it.
Did I shoot wedding?
Yes I did. And this is one of the great things about surprise proposals and couples photoshoots is that we got to meet beforehand. George and Maddie got married in December 2023 near Warminster. Considering the time of year there was no wind or rain, just a calm fog on the morning we were able to get outside and take photos. Since the wedding I have joined the ambulance service where I work part time as an EAA, and I didn’t know at the time that George was a paramedic on the frontline, and now is a uni lecturer for students coming into ambulance work.
Surprise wedding proposals are great fun with the planning and if you think this is something your partner would also like then please drop me a message. We can plan something brief or go all out on styling the location and outfits. Maybe you have access to a classic vehicle we can use as a prop, or you know of a scenic location that would work well? There is lots of inspiration online that can be found so I am open to ideas.
