Mary Kate + Connor | Surprise Proposal | Riverside Park | New York City & Long Island Wedding Photographer
One of the best parts of my job is to document important moments in the lives of others. I get to see couples at their happiest and share in the joy of their families celebrating the couple. This couldn’t have been more true for Mary Kate and Connor - a couple I met right after Connor proposed on a tree-lined promenade in Riverside Park.
Connor contacted me a couple weeks before the proposal. He explained how he was going to propose and we planned the moment the way he envisioned. He was going to propose privately, then we would have a few minutes to take some images of just the couple, and finally we would meet some family members that would be waiting out of sight nearby.
Once I was at Riverside Park, I sent Connor an email letting him know I was ready. With an ETA, I started scanning the path through my telephoto lens trying to make it looked like I was watching birds! I’ve only seen pictures of both of them, but I was able to spot them with about 2 minutes before they arrived.
Wedding Proposal - Riverside Park
Connor turned Mary Kate at the exact spot we discussed, and you could tell that everything else disappeared for the two of them. They spoke for a few moments and then he asked her to marry him.
I had been wondering all morning if she had known something was up. There were a lot of moving parts - family coming from the midwest, the radio silence that is sometimes associated when families are trying to keep the surprise, the ring box, emails to me, and I’m sure other things that happened as well. She was clearly surprised!
Connor chose a beautiful ring by Verstolo.
The genuine expressions of surprise was impossible to miss. Equally inspiring was their happiness. I did my best to give them room to enjoy the moment and the moments after. Even throughout the small portrait session we planned, the joy was so obvious!
After a few posed images, we walked a few more minutes to meet their families - who had been waiting the whole time. Watching the families celebrate the moment was a great experience for me, and I know that Mary Kate and Connor have a loving and supportive family as they begin the next chapter in their relationship.
I love being a part of marriage proposals. It is always a big moment, and I do everything I can to make sure that moment is well documented. These images become part of a family’s legacy, and I was so happy to be there for this part of Mary Kate and Connor’s story.
