Love brings out the best in all of us. Alec and Rene reminded us of that.
As we waited at just one of the great vistas that Windansea Beach has to offer, it became clear how generous and caring--and downright giddy--love can make all of us, even complete strangers. More of that in a second!
Alec and René decided to escape Dallas, Texas, to enjoy Labor Day weekend on the sandy beaches in San Diego. It’s hard to hide anything when people know each other as well as they, so Alec had a herculean undertaking to keep the bling on the down-low.
Alec contacted Will You Marry Me Photography with his plan to propose to Rene on a beach. Being a transplant to San Diego, I understand the allure of the beaches of Southern California and have had a few years to scope out and touch all the strands’ sands with my own hands (hah!) and had the perfect place in mind. I recruited my husband and his guitar to be a decoy--and hidden musical surprise--and we headed down to Windansea in La Jolla, California.
Alec and René met online and hit it off immediately. Within the first month it became obvious how deep their bond was. They have been together 10 months and knew it just felt right. As Alec says,”when you know you know!” They have also crossed paths so many times without knowing it, and have the same interests, it's surprising it took this long to find each other. Alec didn’t want to wait another moment to make the beautiful René is finance and soon to be wife.
Ok, so I pre-ambled about love-induced giddiness, right?
We arrived early to secure parking and to see if we could control the shooting environment--always an advantage on the beautiful (but popular) beaches of La Jolla. We set up shop on a favorite outcropping of sandstone near a natural jette at Windansea with my husband innocently strumming and singing as a supposed model. I used this opportunity to survey the lighting and the crowd, and approached various folks asking for their assistance in the upcoming question-popping.
I noticed something amazing--with each new person or group I approached, the palpable excitement on the beach increased. We could hear snippets of conversation from all around. A group of young college students intent on a good time had set up near us, and to be honest, they were one of the biggest surprises of all. Not only were they totally cool with giving us the space we needed to create the perfect shots of Alec and René, they excitedly offered to help in any way they could! One of the young ladies even happily remarked she had never seen a proposal before.
Bingo! As Alec secretly updated us with their info, I got our ad hoc group of beach models to pose and jump and do what young beach-goers do best as my husband played in the background.
Alec and René approached as our decoy photo session reached a fevered pitch of YOLO style foppishness, when suddenly the moment was upon us and Alec knelt down amidst the sun, the sand, and the sea. I had already begun shooting and approaching and documenting it all when the expectant crowd began to cheer and clap.
She said yes, of course!
Pure giddiness.
Please note that this blog will also be found at www.amandadarosett.com, as I am in the process of transitioning to one company name, which is Amanda Darosett Photography.
Thank you,
Amanda Darosett
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