Venice surprise proposal

23/5/17

The surprise proposal in Venice was a big surprise for me as well. How Daniel found me was kind of a miracle. He lives in Denver, US and when he started to plan a proposal trip to Europe as a complete surprise for his girlfriend May, he also looked for the photographer to have it captured; and that’s how he found me.

At the beginning of March, I received an email titled “Surprise proposal in Venice” and although I replied, I had doubts that this is not going to happen because there is a ton of photographers in Italy. But I still suggest a meeting where we can discuss options and details and Daniel agreed to book with me. I started to plan the proposal with street view on google maps and I dove into research on how to order a gondola ride, where is the best view from a gondola and many other things to help Daniel. Since March I couldn’t wait to travel to Venice in mid-May and to add my first destination proposal to my portfolio.

How we covered the surprise proposal?

Daniel and I came up with a story that he booked a photographer as part of a personalized tour with a photo shooting, so we had a chance to choose a gondola we liked together. We met at San Marco, snapped few pictures around and it was like a fairytale from the first picture. I posed them at the San Marco Square facing each other and holding hands and within a minute they were surrounded by pigeons sitting on their hands and flying over their heads. Afterwards, we found a quiet street with a gondola station and went for a ride. And then it happened. May said yes to Daniel and we both could relief the story about two months of secret planning from across the world. We spent about another hour wondering around the little charming isles of Venice island and ended up the photo session under Rialto Bridge; one of the most iconic landmarks in Venice.

This was probably the biggest challenge for me as a photographer; to deal with a place you don’t know and to pretend you’re a local, knowing the best places etc. This is very different from a destination wedding, where everything is set up.

Anyway, this was one of the best trips and best photo shoots I have done and l will remember it for a long time.

Thank you, Daniel and May and I hope to see you again soon!