Big Sur Beach Proposal | Dominic & Emma

Driving down the coast of California, making a stop in Big Sur, is on just about everyone’s bucket list.

Getting engaged while on that journey? Perhaps not. Dominic and Emma had been eagerly waiting to travel to California from their native UK, making plans that got rescheduled time and time again due to the ‘vid, but maybe those delays were for good reason…

Dominic decided their holiday in California would be the perfect time to propose to Emma, who had no idea it was coming. As the two were most excited to visit Big Sur on their journey, he decided that would be the very place, and consulted our help to begin planning his proposal. Since he’d never been to Big Sur himself, he needed assistance deciding first on a location. Seeing as we’re in Big Sur fairly often for weddings and couple sessions, we gave him a long list of places.

Over the next few weeks, we had tons of secret FaceTimes with Dominic- he’d stay late at work and we’d wake up early because of the time difference, and together we hammered out a plan for the upcoming Big Sur proposal!

Because of location and accessibility, we ultimately decided this beach in northern Big Sur- one of our favorites to photograph couples at! The wide beach with gorgeous rocks and cliffs, white sand, and gently crashing waves made for a perfect spot for us to blend in as everyday beachgoers, and for Dominic to find us once he and Emma arrived at the beach.

Emma was completely taken by surprise, though a couple things seemed a little fishy to her. Dominic insisted on visiting this particular beach, though, with all their research prior to their vacation, it was nowhere mentioned in any blogs, guidebooks, or on social media. Emma wondered why, of all the beautiful places in Big Sur, they had to visit this beach. But she went along with it, figuring they’d make a quick stop and keep going. Second, Dominic dressed up for a full day of driving while Emma wore the classic road trip outfit, a t-shirt and shorts. Dominic had to stop himself from asking her to change that morning, not wanting to give their engagement away.

And so these two arrived at the beach. We set up a very simple picnic blanket with a basket of snacks for Dominic and Emma, complete with views of the Big Sur coastline. We looked like some crazy beachgoers trying to get a tan in the 58 degree, partly cloudy weather, but we blended in just fine. Dominic got down on one knee, completely catching Emma by surprise. The most adorable part was her inability to take her eyes off her engagement ring once it was on her finger. We hung out with these two (they shared their snacks, our kind of people) and took in a rare sunny summer day in Big Sur before we sent them on their way down the coast, newly engaged and very excited for their future together!

Looking for a Central COast Proposal Photographer? Check out our packages and get in touch!

now, please enjoy this little collection of photos from the day Dominic & Emma got engaged in Big Sur!

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