A surprise proposal at Mirabel Golf Club by Phoenix Wedding Photographers, Ryan & Denise

Joey planned the perfect proposal! With a little help from his dad Joe and the staff at the Mirabel Golf Club, he managed to pull off an unforgettable surprise for his girlfriend (now fiance) Linley. And we were so excited that they enlisted our help to capture the moment as it unfolded!

Photographing proposals can be a tricky business. There’s always a lot at stake especially when you don’t know exactly how things are going to play out. All we really knew going in to this session was that Joey was going to pop the question at the fire pit . We had never met him or Linley – we weren’t even sure what they looked like since they were flying in from New York at the same time. No time for a pre-proposal meeting! We just did our best to set the stage and find a couple of stellar hiding spots that were not TOO near the many treacherous cacti in the area. As the clouds rolled in, we were starting to worry that the event was going to be called on account of rain, but the weather was on our side and everything played out perfectly!

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The fire pit at Mirabel was an ideal location for a surprise proposal – a beautiful view, romantic atmosphere and lots of big rocks and foliage for a couple of stealthy photographers to hide behind ;-)

Linely thought that their trip to Arizona was to spend time with Joey’s family for their annual reunion. Joey told her to dress up so they could meet the rest of the family at the Golf Club near his parents home for a nice dinner. He seemed a little over interested in her choice of shoes when he insisted that she wear heels to dinner, but she didn’t think too much of it. When they arrived, they were greeted by his dad Joe. She didn’t even notice when he slipped his son a little black box containing the engagement ring he had shipped to Arizona in preparation for this very important moment. His dad suggested that Joey show Linley the gorgeous view of the mountains while they waited for the rest of the family to arrive.  They chatted casually as they took a stroll out to the fire pit. As they walked up and looked out over the golf course, gazing at the overcast skies, she gasped as Joey got down on one knee in front of her . . .

As they hugged, Joey turned and shot us this proud little smile, knowing he’d pulled off the perfect surprise!

And then, of course, he told Linely to smile for the photographers hiding behind the rocks capturing their unforgettable moment together! LOVE!

Even though we didn’t have the chance to meet Joey & Linely before the big moment, it didn’t take long for us to love this sweet pair! They are absolutely adorable together and their love and excitement was nothing less than contagious. With the cloudy weather, we were nearly out of daylight, but we managed to fit in some quick portraits of the brand new Mr-and-Mrs-to-be! So cute!

Joey looked pretty darn proud (and a little relived that the wait was finally over!) He had this plan in the works for quite a while and it was SO hard to keep it from Linley! So hard in fact that his dad and Linely’s brother were just about the only ones who knew! He didn’t even tell his roomates, who happen to be good friends of Linley’s because he was so worried one of them would give him away!

In between the sweetness, these two lovebird could not stop giggling and smiling at each other! So adorable!

LOVE!

One of my favs :-)

We have to give props to Joey for having excellent taste – in jewelry AND women! This gorgeous ring was the perfect compliment to his beautiful bride-to-be.

As the rest of the family started to head out to the golf course to congratulate the happy couple, they could not stop smiling!

As a big part of the plan himself, it was only fitting that Joe was the first to congratulate the happy couple.

Love this shot of Linley as she called her family to tell them the news! Pure happiness!!

The dinner party with the family had been the perfect excuse to get Linley to the golf club, but what she (and many of the rest) didn’t know is that it would be an engagement party too!

A big thanks to Joey, Linley, Joe and the wonderful staff at Mirabel Golf Club for allowing us to capture such a special time! We loved every minute of it! Thank you for making us feel so welcome and allowing us to share in so much happiness.