This. Proposal. Was. So. Fun!

Shawn contacted me a few weeks ago to tell me about his plans to propose to his girlfriend Sonali. They met while in grad school at Duke University, and 2.5 years later, he was excited to ask her to be his wife!

First of all, Shawn, is an awesome planner. His proposal wasn’t simple, but he pulled it off beautifully!

Shawn & Sonali live in San Francisco and planned to meet up with college friends in Austin for a weekend trip. The two of them had been to Austin before, and they walked along the boardwalk at Lake Austin together. He decided that would be the perfect spot to revisit years later to propose. Over the weekend, they stayed with a friend who lives near the lake, and Shawn came up with a plan to completely surprise Sonali!

One of their friends asked Sonali to walk with her around the lake. While they walked, Shawn quickly changed into a suit and drove over to the boardwalk with flowers, a picnic basket, and champagne. He waited there for Sonali and their friend to walk down the boardwalk to find him standing there!

She was in such deep conversation with her friend that didn’t notice Shawn until she was just a few yards away. The look of shock and happiness on her face was amazing!

Afterward, they took a private walk along the lake and were surprised by family members (who also flew across the country) waiting for them at a restaurant nearby!

And not only did Shawn have a bunch of people and travel plans to coordinate, but the rain forecast had been taunting him all week. We came up with backup locations, but I’m happy he got to stick to his original plan! It did actually rain before the proposal and just minutes afterward, but at that point, they were just happy to be engaged!

Congratulations, Sonali & Shawn!

From Shawn

“Lauren was extremely helpful in planning/photographing my proposal and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a photographer in the Austin area. She went above and beyond in helping me think through logistics for the proposal, back up plans for the weather, and providing us the full set of pictures the same day.”

 

on the blog

More about proposal photography >

Best places to propose in Austin >

See a proposal on a Lake Travis boat dock >