A proposal in Paris
It was Sunday, December 1st, 2024, 8 a.m. I hurried to catch the TGV to Paris Nord, fully packed with my camera gear.
I felt a bit like Emily in Paris, minus the fashionable outfits. I was a woman on a mission. A mission to photograph a marriage proposal in the city of love, without the woman in question noticing me.
The man proposing - let’s call him Q - had made one thing very clear: I absolutely could not end up in their line of sight on the way to the agreed location. This was not going to be easy. The woman - I’ll call her M - knows me well. So it would be very strange if I just happened to be wandering around Paris with my camera at the exact same time.
In other words: I would have to hide. Properly.
We shared our live locations via WhatsApp, which turned out to be incredibly useful. On the map, I suddenly saw their little dot moving straight towards me, while I wasn’t even in the right place yet. With no crowd to hide behind, I had no choice but to jump behind a tree and frantically message Q, telling him to change direction immediately. Luckily, he did. Crisis avoided.
When I finally arrived at the meeting point, a small pier near Pont Léna, I immediately knew something was wrong. In huge letters, filled with red roses, the words “MARRY ME” were displayed right there. Panic. I called Q straight away, because I was 99% sure this wasn’t his doing. A very short phone call confirmed it.
It was obvious: another couple could show up at any moment with the exact same plan.
Slightly dazed, I went looking for a new spot, while Q tried to keep M away from the pier a little longer. I walked on until I found a place that met my basic requirements. Behind me: trash bins, parked cars and a fence. Not ideal. In front of me: an empty pier with a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower. Given the lack of time, this was as good as it was going to get. And honestly, those cars were perfect to hide behind.
Triumphantly, I sent the new coordinates to Q and quickly positioned myself behind a car, waiting for them to arrive.
And the rest is history.
Thankfully, nothing else went wrong, although M did spot me a split second too early, just as I jumped out from behind the car while Q was still walking towards her with the ring in his hand. It didn’t matter. She immediately understood what was happening, and the tears followed instantly. Not just for M, by the way: I struggled to hold them back myself. Emotional person over here.
The rest of the day passed in a warm, happy blur. We had time, so we visited some of Paris’ most iconic spots: Montmartre, the Louvre, Palais Royal, Sacré-Cœur, typical Parisian cafés, and more. It was the perfect opportunity to create couple photos that don’t usually end up in your phone’s camera roll.
Because let’s be honest: Paris as a backdrop just gives photos that little extra something, doesn’t it?
