Ben and Adele’s proposal at Freemans NYC in the legendary Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan was as stunning and exciting as they come! He, very smartly, booked me months in advance to make sure he had me locked in for his date and that I could get to work with helping him plan for everything. His cover story included telling Adele that they had to go to a work dinner that night, “getting a call from a coworker” (me, doing improv very epicly) about an issue coming up at the place he said they were headed, and flexing to head to Freemans. Which just so happens to be where they had their very first date years ago! He rented out the upstairs bar so they could have total privacy (besides me popping out and capturing the moment) and led her up to it upon their arrival. I think you can see on Adele’s face just how shocked and surprised she was! Usually the person being proposed to has some clue that something’s up. But Adele absolutely did not! Not because she missed signs or anything, but just because Ben did that well. I’m honestly still impressed!

The surprises didn’t stop with the proposal though! Moments after Ben asking Adele to marry him, both of their families appeared! And Adele was shocked again! I always love when family can come to proposals to celebrate the couple right after because the joy in the space always multiplies 100x! They all got to spend around an hour chatting, talking through the lead up to the proposal (“No, I really had no idea! I was even mad at him in the Uber for us having to do a work dinner on a cold, rainy night!”), and discussing wedding plans that they’d thought through even ahead of the official engagement. After that time everyone went downstairs for dinner, but I held Ben and Adele back for a few minutes for a few final portraits. After all, what an opportunity to sit, smile, laugh, hug, and kiss at the exact spot you had your first date at – moments after getting engaged!

I’m so excited for the two of them and everything that’s to come! If you’re inspired by these images and are looking to plan your own proposal in NYC (maybe even your own proposal at Freemans NYC!) then contact me so we can put together something epic for you!