Miguel had a very clear idea of what he wanted when he reached out to me. He wanted a private, intimate proposal in a natural space. It didn’t take us long to settle on Peace Park as it has all the elements he was after in abundance. All that was left to do was select the perfect spot for him to propose to Erin and work out the details of how to get them there.
As part of my service package, I include the scouting of our chosen location. So, I headed over to Peace Park in order to search for 10-15 micro-locations that would work at our chosen time of day. In the end, Miguel liked the element of the cobbled path in the scene below. I then provided him with a step-by-step guide from the entrance of the park to his location so he could get there easily. As well as this, I added some tips for ensuring the photos turned out just as he wanted them to.
On the day, I was waiting at the location an hour in advance to ensure things were just as we expected them to be. Since nothing had changed and the darker greens of the beginning of autumn were starting to shine through, I texted Miguel to let him know that everything was good to go! He said that they’d be a bit early but he would try to stall. Since we had an overcast day, it didn’t matter what time he showed up, so we agreed that he could just come over right away and relieve the stress from his mind!
I saw the couple arriving in the park and quickly placed the bouquet of flowers Miguel had asked me to prepare before heading back to my bag and checking that everything was set perfectly on my cameras for the big moment.
Miguel walked them into the scene and almost immediately began his speech to Erin. He had thought of everything and even had tissues in his bag as he suspected she might cry. Over the course of his speech, she did indeed laugh and cry. This gave me plenty of different emotions to capture and a large set of images to deliver for them.
One of the most common questions I get from my clients is, “Can we repeat the proposal if something doesn’t work out?” The answer here is, of course. Now, with Miguel and Erin’s proposal, everything went spectacularly and there was no real need to repeat it. But, the first thing I noticed when they arrived was that she had stored her hair tie on her right arm! After the proposal, we greeted each other and I offered them a quick reshoot before our couple session if they wanted. Erin agreed and this one contained just as much emotion as the last. It was great for me to be able to capture things again and for them to experience two proposals in one day! As a final bonus, it allowed me to get in really close and photograph the ring going onto Erin’s finger, which I didn’t want to do in the initial proposal as that was a moment just for them!
As you can see in the background of these images, autumn is starting to come through in the trees. This is the middle of September, which means that summer is done and the trees are starting their slow fade to brown for the autumn season. Personally, this is one of my favourite times of year as we get a mix between autumn (with some browns and also the reeds coming through) and summer’s deep greens. So, I took Miguel and Erin on a tour of the park and made some lovely images of their first moments together as an engaged couple.
Once again, a big congratulations to the couple and a thanks for entrusting this important moment to me. If you’re looking to have your own proposal captured in Seoul or anywhere else in Korea, please do get in touch. Don’t forget to also follow my Instagram for lots more images from Korea.
