Dan + Sydney - Epic Underwater Surprise Proposal
Yes, you read that right an UNDERWATER surprise proposal! When Dan reached out to me about proposing to his girlfriend Sydney, his initial idea was to propose in front of the spewing lava of the Kilauea Volcano on Hawai’i Island. Epic right?! Unfortunately, when I arrived on Hawai’i island the volcano was a couple of days behind the predicted eruption time and did not end up erupting as we had hoped and planned for, so we had to pivot. Dan’s next epic idea? Propose to Sydney underwater on Maui! And that is exactly what he did.
In order to plan for an underwater proposal without spoiling the surprise, we decided to tell Sydney that we are doing a regular underwater photoshoot together. Sydney has a love for the water and Dan made the underwater photoshoot her “surprise” gift. But unbeknownst to her, the real surprise was waiting beneath the ocean surface.
Dan and Sydney, the kind souls that they are, picked me up from the airport and we trekked along Maui’s southern most coast checking beach after beach until we found the perfect spot to get in. We found a calm and secluded cove just off the beaten path in front of the Four Seasons Maui. Dan hid the ring in an outside pocket of a backpack which I snagged and hid away in my floatation device that I take out on every photoshoot.
Once in the water I instructed Dan and Sydney to do a few underwater poses together—just as I would for a regular underwater photo session—before we transitioned to the proposal. After, I had Sydney do a few underwater poses alone so that Dan could grab the ring box unseen.
Finally, the surprise! Dan had the ring tied to the box and was able to keep it secure when opening it underwater. You can see the moment Sydney realizes what is happening (underwater!) as Dan swam up to her with the box open. She excitedly swam back up to the surface with a huge smile and answered Dan with an elated “yes!”.
