Brad & Samantha | A Family Session-Turned Surprise Proposal

It was a quiet afternoon at the Riggan house when Reid’s phone unexpectedly rang. He answered, curious as to who the unknown number belonged to, and grew excited as Brad began to talk. Brad introduced himself and explained to Reid that he was referred to us by one of our brides. His voice carried a slightly shaky tone, which seemed a little odd, as he began to talk about his hopes for scheduling a family session for him, his sons and his girlfriend. We quickly learned that this would be way more epic than just a family session. Brad told Reid how he wanted to give his girlfriend, Samantha, the surprise of her life during the session and propose!! Of course, we were all over that!

About a month went by, and Brad called back. The engagement ring had finally come in and it was time to get this show on the road! We arranged to meet Brad for coffee on Friday afternoon to scheme the perfect plan. He had a small wooden sign made which read “Say Yes!” which we kept safely in our care until the proposal. We decided to pose Brad and Samantha side by side, Brad facing away and Samantha facing us. We would tell her to close her eyes, then Reid would pull the sign out of the bag, hand it to the boys and assume positions while Brittany stalled Samantha. Once the boys were in place and Reid moved to his place we would tell her to open her eyes and then Brad would steal the show. It was perfect!

When the day of the proposal arrived, we were feeling the nerves! We arrived at Brad’s family farm, took a deep breath and stepped out of the car to “meet” Brad and Sam. Now remember, we had to act like we’d never met Brad before. Something you should know about Brittany is that she has a conscience like a Nazi. She can’t get away with anything! She may or may not have had to look down at her feet when she shook Brad’s hand and introduced herself… she can’t lie to save her life! Reid, though, handled it like a champ. This guy was all over it!

We started the way we start every session. We told them what we would be doing, what they could expect, introduced them to the hand dandy expo disc, and then took another deep breath and got started! We always start with walking. Walking creates distance between the couple and the camera, which helps them relax and feel a little more natural. Movement is always more comfortable than standing still, especially when nerves are running rampant, so it seems to be very successful. When we were finished with the walking, we moved into a more “posed” pose so Reid could slip the ring box into Brad’s back pocket. The boys were squirmy enough that Samantha never noticed!

 

Once Brad had the ring, we were ready to rock and roll! We told Brad & Samantha that we would give the boys a break for a minute and get some shots of the two of them. As luck would have it, the farm cat came over to visit and the boys got really distracted, so Brittany guided the couple through another pose to give Reid time to get the boys attention back.

When the boys were back, we exchanged glances which in married business partner language means “good to go,” and Brittany said “Oh! I know what will be really sweet! Brad, I want you to turn with your back facing me, then Sam, lace your arm through Brad’s and give him a nice little snuggle!” Is your heart rate increasing, because ours sure are just thinking about it!

“That is so beautiful, now Sam why don’t you close your eyes for me. Keep them closed, I want to get a few different angles. That’s so beautiful, hold that right there, the sun is changing and I need to change my settings… don’t open your eyes!” (Again, there go the lies!)

By this time, the boys had the sign in their hands and Reid was moving to his position. “Okay I’m going to take 2 more just like this. One…. (as she’s walking backwards to get behind the boys with the sign) two… okay, you can open now!”

To say she was excited was an understatement! Samantha said “yes” before Brad was able to get the question out!

The surprise wasn’t over yet, though! Brad arranged for all of their family to come to the farm for a surprise dinner, so we went to the Cadron Settlement in Conway for their engagement session. We can definitely say that this was the most emotional and joyful engagement session we have ever shot! Both Brad and Sam couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear.