A surprise proposal / Arte and Barrett

Barrett's Surprise Proposal to Arte at South Perth Foreshore

Some proposals take months of planning and others come together in about 11 days.

When Barrett reached out to me from New York, 11 days before he planned to propose to Arte in Perth, I knew we had to move fast. We jumped on a video call a few days before to sort out the details.

The easy part was that Barrett wanted to propose at South Perth Foreshore: a spot with an amazing view of the city skyline and a nice open space that would work perfectly for photos. A place I know very well and have photographed many times. The not-so-easy part was the number of people involved, which made coordination a priority.

Arte had no idea any of this was happening. Well, maybe there was an inkling or two. On the day, however? Nothing. She was even a bit annoyed because Barrett had been ignoring her for 2 days. The exact time it took Barrett to get to Perth :)

He landed in Perth early that morning, and I arrived a little ahead of time to confirm our spot was free and double-check the angles and light. The weather was ideal - calm, clear skies, and soft winter sun. A bit lucky since this was the wettest and wildest winter in Perth in 30 years :)

Then it all happened.

There was a mix of laughter, happy tears, and that kind of disbelief that something this special had just happened. Happy hugs with the fam and more laughter on the video call to America.

It was simple, genuine, and real; exactly the kind of moments that reminds me why I love doing this work.

Barrett pulled off something pretty incredible and I was there to photograph it.