Tucker & Nicole | Surprise proposal on Pont Alexandre in Paris
December can bring many moods of weather in Paris. Usually, Paris around the holidays is cold and windy, with a lot of rain. You never know what the Paris weather gods will throw at you, so having an umbrella along is always a good idea.
Paris is beautiful all year long, my favorite time of year is in April, when the cherry blossoms bloom. But the holiday period is wonderful, too and so festive! If you’re thinking of coming around Christmas time or just before Christmas, you’ll find the Paris Christmas markets. Have a hot wine, enjoy the lights. Mostly locals are in Paris in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and the week before Christmas there aren’t as many tourists, as people are home celebrating with their families.
But when Christmas is over, planes load up for the trip to Paris to celebrate the new year, and the city is quite busy. This makes for a wonderful, festive time. Before you leave for your trip, make sure to check the web site of the Paris Tourist Office to see what’s happening, and also, buy your tickets in advance online if you can (or via your mobile phone app). On average, the Eiffel Tower sees 25,000 visitors a day, but these numbers can swell during the holiday season and it gets very crowded.
On this particular December day, we had the typical Paris gloom, but no rain, but lots of wind. Tucker and Nicole met several years ago, and live in the great American city of Boston. Tucker contacted me about his proposal in Paris, and wanting to capture these special moments for them to treasure for the rest of their lives. He selected the most ornate bridge in Paris for his proposal, the Pont Alexandre III.
Featured in many movies and TV shows (like the Netflix show, Emily in Paris) it is the most ornate and beautiful bridge in central Paris, running between the Champs Elysees and the Invalides. It has a distant view of the Eiffel Tower, and as well as being a bridge for people and cars to pass over, it’s also a tourist attraction in its own right.
Tourists stop and linger on the bridge, taking photos, videos, enjoying the view. It’s a grand place for a proposal, but requires a bit of planning. Essentially, my clients just look for me on the bridge, I tell them where I’ll be, and they approach me and ask if I mind taking a photo of them with their cell phone. Tourists do this for each other all the time, so it’s really not that unusual. Given that I’ll have a camera on me as well, it’s quite clear I’m a tourist, or waiting for someone.
I take the picture, give your phone back to you, and then your loved one forgets all about me. This is where you get on one knee, quick enough so that tourists don’t pass in front of you and spoil your moment, but at this time I’m capturing your proposal for you. I then introduce myself, and we have a mini engagement session for up to 30 minutes. Why just a half hour? I’ve found through my vast experience as a Paris surprise proposal photographer, that it’s just about the right amount of time for a proposal.
It’s not too long, it’s not too short. Even if the person you are proposing to expects that you’ll be proposing in Paris, even if you’ve discussed getting married over and over and over, they never know when and then don’t know exactly where.
The number one fear my clients have is that she is going to know! I have news for you, my friend. If you’re taking her to Paris, she already suspects you may propose in Paris. If that’s worrying to you, then surprise her at home with a proposal she can’t possibly see coming and just fly to Paris to celebrate your engagement.
That said, I’ve never had one single lady in all the years I’ve been a Paris surprise proposal photographer say, I knew it! That woman! She was there to take our picture! They never know, because how could they? And honestly, they’re just not thinking about it. However, a longer, drawn out photo session after your proposal isn’t really ideal. She’s always in a bit of shock and isn’t really present. That’s why it’s better to schedule an engagement session the next day and keep the proposal short.
On this day, Tucker had a magnificent proposal on the bridge, we had a champagne toast, and because the area around Pont Alexandre was under a bit of construction, we took a walk down to Place de la Concorde and the Tuileries Gardens, for a few more photos and so that Tucker and Nicole could enjoy their champagne.
It was so magical, Paris during the holidays, and with a wind swept love story like this, I was in photography heaven!
If you’re planning to propose in Paris, make sure to contact me so that I can help you to live your magic moment, too!
