The 22nd of November will forever be etched in my brain. For a few reasons, actually. Firstly, 22/11 always has a nice ring to it; secondly, it’s my birthday and thirdly, it’s the reason we are here. It was the day I got to capture a beautiful moment for Virginia and Becca. It was the day of their engagement. As an LGBT wedding photographer, I love capturing love stories from the queer community. But proposals are always something special. It’s a moment of joy and surprise. A moment where emotions run high. And that’s why this date will forever be in my mind.
I first met Virginia not long after she had picked up the ring. She carefully designed a ring for Becca, and now it was time to organise the perfect proposal. They had been casually talking about what their proposal should look like, so Virginia had a pretty good idea. And Virginia had settled on a few things she knew she wanted. A place special to them (check, this is somewhere they visited when they first moved to Australia), their friends present (check, Virginia had organised to have a picnic with friends afterwards) and for the moment to be captured (and that’s where I came in).
One thing that was important was including the LGBT community in their love story, and as an LGBT wedding photographer and community member, it made perfect sense for me to capture the day.
After months of planning, we were days out from the big day, and we hit a snag. The weather was not on our side. Initially, Virginia wanted to propose at Sunset Place, Vaucluse. But with the bad weather, we agreed on the backup option. Wendy’s Secret Garden, Lavender Bay. This is a place that was special to Virginia. When the couple moved to Australia, it was one of the first places in Sydney they visited. So it was kind of a full circle moment having the proposal here.
On the 22nd I packed my bags and made the 2-hour drive to Lavendar Bay. I find myself in Sydney a fair bit as an LGBT wedding photographer for a range of different occasions. But so far this has been one of my favourite locations. I hadn’t been before, but the garden is perched right behind Luna Park and has so gorgeous views of the Harbour Bridge.
Once I arrived, I found Virginia’s friends setting up the decorations for the proposal, and then I waited. Virginia had organised the proposal under the guise of a ‘friendsgiving’, so down the stairs they came with a freshly made pumpkin pie in tow.
To say Becca was surprised when she arrived is an understatement. There were tears, laughs and everything in between.
As an LGBT wedding photographer, I understand how important it is for this moment not to be rushed, which is why my proposal packages are 2 hours in length. This allows the couple to have their moment in a way super authentic to them. And once they have had it, we’ll head off to take some portraits.
We used the area around the gardens for their photos, focusing on the iconic sights like the Sydney skyline and Sydney Harbour Bridge, and also the textures of the gardens and the houses nearby. This gave their gallery a lot of variety.
Once we finished the photoshoot, Virginia took Becca to the next surprise of the day, which was all their friends waiting for them at a small engagement party. Virginia absolutely nailed this proposal, and I’m so glad I get to share and capture memories like this.
As a Central Coast elopement photographer, I love getting to branch out and share these sorts of stories from the LGBT community. Having visibility is key, and the wedding industry can be very daunting for members of the LGBT community, so having these stories available is incredibly important.
