Some stories take a little more behind-the-scenes to come together... especially this one.
A first contacted me about capturing his proposal, and as we started planning, we quickly realized the timing came with a challenge... Tofino’s off-season. Until the beginning of April, most florists in town are either away or closed, which meant his vision for a romantic floral setup wasn’t going to be simple.
So we made a plan.
The morning of, I drove out to Nanaimo to pick up his arrangements from Cori Lynn's Floral Design, something soft, romantic, and full, exactly what he had imagined for N. Later that afternoon, after driving back from Nanaimo, I headed straight to Ucluelet and set everything up at Big Beach, just below Black Rock Oceanfront Resort. And somehow, after weeks of relentless rain and a two-week atmospheric river, the weather shifted just in time for this big moment, like the Universe knew.
Proposals always make me nervous (in the best way). There’s this quiet buildup where you can feel how much it means, how excited he is, and how everything is about to change in a single moment. One of my favourite things about proposals is making sure the person proposing feels as prepared as possible. We talk through everything: the plan, how to get their partner there, their posture when kneeling, how to open the ring box without fumbling, taking a deep breath, and just being present in the moment.
Once everything was in place, I stepped back and waited for them to make their way down to the beach, right into the moment we had all been planning. A hazy golden hour settled over the coastline, soft light filtering through the mist, the ocean calm in a way that felt almost unreal for that time of year. It couldn’t have lined up more perfectly.
A led N down to the beach, where everything was set. The florals, the view, the quiet, just the two of them in that moment. And then, just like that, everything changed.
After she said yes, we popped some prosecco right there on the beach, letting the moment stretch a little longer. There’s always this shift after a proposal, the nerves melt, the excitement settles in, and everything feels lighter. We wandered for a bit, capturing those first moments of being newly engaged, before they headed off to their dinner reservation, still riding that just-engaged feeling.
It was one of those evenings that felt rare for the west coast in March. Thoughtfully planned, a little bit serendipitous, and completely unforgettable.
