Sneaky Wedding Proposal Photography in Detroit!

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So you've been planning your proposal for months and you've made elaborate plans to pop the question. Wouldn't it be awesome to have that moment captured?

As a photojournalist and former theater major, I've got just the skill set to put off this wonderful surprise. Engagement and wedding proposal photography isn't quite as straight forward as you might think. So far, all of my proposal photography has involved freezing temperatures, a lot of play acting and interesting obstacles. I charge $600 for an hour (ish) of on location time. Not only do I shoot the Detroit, Michigan wedding proposal, but if time allows (and it usually does), it's a great way to get some spontaneous, authentic and fun engagement photos. The high resolution, digital files will be in your hot hands within 24 hours so you can announce your engagement to the world in style.

So why the heck does this service cost more than all my other portrait sessions? The time involved talking back and forth with the person who hires me takes a lot of time chatting and emailing and coordinating how to pull off the proposal as a surprise AND to have me document it. As the years have gone on, a lot of proposals have gotten really elaborate and requires more of my time before the event. It's not too dissimilar to the time I put in with my wedding clients. There is also a need to get these photos out to you quickly, so I get them back to you asap and that does come at a premium. They also almost always happen on weekends which also come at a premium.

You'll see from the slideshow that all of these circumstances are pretty unique, but each of the Detroit area men wanted to make sure their proposal of marriage was well photographed and the reactions were documented. The first wedding proposal involved a fly by in an area that is not photographer friendly and the plane had just called the groom to be to tell him it was too cold to pull the banner popping the question. So I'm on location taking photos of my son in the freezing temps when all of the sudden the groom to be drops to his knee. Just then.... the plane arrives! All's well that ends well!

In the second example of Detroit, Michigan wedding proposal photographer, the groom to be wanted to propose in the building he and his fiance had their first date in. It was an abandoned high rise in Detroit. When he wanted to propose, however, it was under construction and crawling with workers. So he got permission and the construction company's blessing and blindfolded his wife to be, took her up a rickety elevator off the side of the building, guided her into the howling snow, removed the blindfold and proposed, much to her surprise and relief!

The third proposal I feature on this slideshow involved a casino, another legendary location that is not at all photographer friendly. So what's a photographer to do in order to find the couple? Well, she poses as a casino photographer and takes photos of lots of couples EATING at a restaurant. The groom to be slips me their room key and I went up to shoot all the details laid out in the room. To let him know I'm ready, I arrived back at the casino and took more arbitrary photographs of casino guest including the couple. Guess she thought I was just a really enthusiastic employee. Needless to say I followed them back to their room and he proposed. We took a lot of photos around the hotel area of the casino (with their blessing and clearance, of course. This is a great way to preserve your big moment as you get down on one knee.

© Marci Curtis