2-Part Surprise Proposal in Joshua Tree National Park
Where do I even start with Patrick & Natalie’s surprise Joshua Tree proposal?! When Patrick reached out about his plan on how he wanted to propose to Natalie, I nearly screamed. Since Joshua Tree was one of their favorite places, Patrick had planned the sweetest sunset picnic in the park, followed by a song he had written for her before he’d pop the question, followed by a surprise from their best friends who would be traveling from out of town. Cue all my tears T_T
In the weeks following, Patrick and I exchanged maps and screenshots with tons of notes, arrows and scribbles to plan out exactly how things would go down. Since cell service is basically non-existent within Joshua Tree National Park, it was important to make sure everyone knew where to be and how we’d communicate with or signal to each other once we were inside the park. We also wanted to find a spot away from the main crowd so that they had privacy, which isn’t always guaranteed in a public setting. We made plans and backup plans, and backup plans FOR our backup plans - we had to make sure we had all our bases covered, ha!
On the day of, the sky was overcast and even rainy in some areas - it had apparently been raining in Joshua Tree earlier that morning! I got to the park several hours early and walked around to scout where I would station myself. The sky was still grey and gloomy then, and I was pretty nervous we wouldn’t get that sunset we were hoping for (something we absolutely take for granted down in Southern California!). However by the time Patrick and Natalie arrived, the sky cleared, as if right on cue.
The spot Patrick had picked out was absolutely perfect - tucked away and hidden from the main picnic area, with a stunning view of that evening’s sunset. As I watched the proposal unfold just as we had planned, I found myself sobbing behind my camera - it was the sweetest thing to witness and wow, what a privilege. I hadn’t realized how emotionally invested I had been in these two T_T
As we allowed the emotions to settle a little, I ran over to the parking lot where P+N’s best friends were hiding to signal to them that it was time for their part of the surprise. Cue my nerves again! Watching Natalie react to seeing their best friends running over to them from behind some boulders might be one of my favorite things of this day. (But then again, I have SO many favorite moments from this evening!)
I later learned that Patrick had bought everyone iPods so that they could switch their location sharing to the iPods and leave them at home, to prevent Natalie from suspecting anything. I mean, what?!!!
As they celebrated their engagement with their friends over champagne, the sky turned a brilliant pink and purple. It was honestly an incredible Joshua Tree sunset :’) and what an evening spent with some of the sweetest people! I am so so so excited to celebrate with them again in Mexico 2023!
Ring: Marrow Fine
Flowers: Long Stem Disco
