Sunset Cliffs, San Diego Surprise Proposal

Matt called me out of the blue about a week before their visit to San Diego and said, "so, we're coming down to SD next week... and I have some plans." ⁠I immediately squealed because I knew what those plans were. He had an idea of how he wanted to ask his girlfriend, Waverly, to marry him, and it was really important to him to have it photographed.

The three of us met in 2016 at Seattle Pacific University where we all cheered together. So I’ve been able to see their relationship start and progress over all these years and I even had a chance to photograph them together in the early years of the relationship! Being able to see two dear friends get engaged is such special time, let alone a huge privilege to photograph.

Matt had planned this perfectly sweet evening at Sunset Cliffs with a charcuterie board and wine before he was going to pop the question.⁠ I arrived in my incognito attire, sat about 50 feet behind them, kept my head down out of fear that Wave might recognize me, and waited for the big moment. After several minutes of pretending to read my book, I saw Matt stand up, and I sprang into my position with my camera and began photographing.

Proposals happen so fast, and there’s so much adrenaline (honestly, you’d think I was the one being proposed to with how much I’m shaking out of excitement.) But as it’s happening, I’ve learned to slow down and breathe to make sure to capture the shot perfectly.

You can see just how surprised she was. She had no idea this was going to happen here at the cliffs, and little did she know that it was all being photographed. Her reaction was priceless.

I allowed them a few minutes to soak in the moment, and give them the space to let those feelings of excitement of the future sink in.

We planned for a short engagement session afterwards to take announcement photos of them together and the ring. A few minutes into the session, this giant wave of dark clouds, or as the locals here call it, the marine layer, blanketed us and the beautiful sunset we had. The cloudy skies, and the moody vibe reminded us of being back in the PNW.

We spent the evening celebrating Matt and Wave over drinks and dinner in the Gaslamp district; toasting to the start of a new chapter in life.

Love you both dearly, and am so, so excited to be a part of documenting your wedding day, and many more life events to follow!