Last spring, I photographed this lovely surprise proposal for Paul and Karen who were in New York on vacation. (They live in Seattle, and Paul found me on instagram!) Paul was hoping to propose on Bow Bridge in Central Park, but a thunderstorm forced us to change our plans. I suggested proposing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I’m so glad Paul agreed; I think that this series of photos is so special, and so New York.

Megan and Andrew’s proposal story is such a great one. They live in Washington, DC but love to come to New York for weekend trips together. Andrew decided to propose on one of those weekends, right on Gapstow Bridge in Central Park.

When Andrew wrote me last summer to say that he was planning on proposing to my friend Amy, I started crying happy tears in my living room. Andrew’s email subject line alone – “Special Occasion :)” – was enough to get me tearing up before I even opened the email. It’s always exciting when one of your close friends gets engaged, but the feeling of being in on the secret just can’t be beat; it’s indescribable and so, so special.

Normally, when photographing engagements, if I haven’t met the person getting proposed to before, I can hide in plain sight leading up to the proposal; I just pretend to be taking photos of my surroundings while actually keeping an eye out for the couple’s arrival. In the case of Andrew and Mary’s Gramercy Park proposal, though I hadn’t met Mary before, I had to do things a little differently.