d family ~ maternity/engagement surprise session in NYC

I have had to wait to post about this session while the couple told their family and friends the exciting news and it has been killing me! I think one of the best words to describe this evening is “epic.”

My husband’s cousin, who lives in Manhattan, called us one night to tell us some incredible news— he and his girlfriend were expecting and wanted to schedule a maternity session in NYC. They knew that I was due to have a baby soon and the session would have to be a little earlier in the pregnancy than my maternity sessions are typically done. Eventually, we chose a date, picked the location and got everything all set. The night before our session together, he called my husband to quickly tell him some MORE exciting news while his girlfriend was in the other room. He would be surprising her at the session by PROPOSING! I would be there to catch everything on camera.

The next evening, my husband and I got a babysitter and made a night of it. We drove into the city and got there early to check out the location and decide the best picture spots. Well… this park was so amazing that there were a ton of perfect picture spots! But there was one spot that I knew would be an absolutely “epic” place to propose. In an off-the-beaten-path part of the park was this huge archway/tunnel, absolutely massive in size, that you could walk through. This was where the proposal happened! I can’t even imagine the nerves involved with asking someone to marry you, but this guy did it, did it in a gorgeous location, and had it captured on film (so to speak). The rest of the session turned into an engagement/maternity hybrid and was so sweet, since she was totally surprised and couldn’t stop looking at the ring. I’m not sure how this can be beat as my top most exciting session of all time!