Marriage Proposal Ideas

Are you looking to propose to the love of your life? Congratulations in advance! 🥳 We’ve captured a lot of proposals 🎉 at Flytographer, and we’re here to help you with special, unique ways to make your proposal memorable forever. Here at Flytographer, we easily connect people with trusted photographers 📸 for fun photo shoots and have captured over four million memories worldwide. 🌎 The magic of Flytographer is both the experience and the photos. Explore the city with a fun, talented photographer and get wall-worthy photos to relive your trip, forever. Today, we asked our local photographers to share their best, most successful marriage proposal ideas… so naturally we’re passing those along to you — read on! 📲

TLDR

1. Capture the moment with Flytographer — proposal planning can be stressful enough, but that moment when you ask your love to be your best friend forever is one you’ll want to cherish — so hire a pro who can take all the pressure off you! 📸
2. Avoid common proposal mistakes — our top two proposal mistakes to avoid… and then that’s it for negativity! Just getting that riiiight out of the way at the beginning, so you’re good to go. 🙃
3. Pick a meaningful time of year — choosing a meaningful time of year to propose can make your fairytale feel even more like a dream come true. ✨
4. Plan a romantic getaway — romance hits differently for everyone, and a customized romantic getaway for you and your love can make them fall even more head-over-heels before, during, and after you pop the question! 🥰
5. Make restaurant reservations for after — no matter what kind of proposal you plan, scheduling a restaurant reservation 🍽 for after is a great way to sit and reflect on all that transpired alongside your significant other throughout your journey together.
6. Recreate the first date — recreating and/or incorporating your first date + your proposal makes this special celebration ❤️ even better.
7. Include family members — keeping those who are most special to you hidden until the big moment, and/or including them immediately afterwards, ☺️ can help elevate and heighten all the happy emotions!
8. Incorporate an activity your partner loves — incorporating personal, creative ways to pop the question 💍 are endless — you may not even have to dig deep, just get creative!
9. Book a boat ride — whether it’s a private charter, or you’re booking tickets on a night cruise, organizing a boat ride ⛵️ could be a great place to pop the question.
10. Organize a picnic — this romantic proposal idea 🧺 can be set up in advance, or you can bring everything and set it up together to really hit them with the surprise element.

Photo: Bayu in Bali for Flytographer. Amir and partner capture memories in Bali with a proposal photoshoot.

1. Capture the moment with Flytographer

Let’s just start with the most obvious marriage proposal idea: pictures! 📷 Proposal planning can be stressful enough, but that moment when you ask your love to be your best friend forever is one you’ll want to cherish — so hire a pro who can take all the pressure off you (or anyone else you know who may get sidetracked in the moments of excitement 🤳). Make sure when your soulmate says, “Yes!” you have one of our professional photographers capturing every fleeting moment. Surprise proposals are one of our Flytographer specialties, and to have a way to look back on this occasion for the rest of your life (one of the best keepsakes ever) is truly, truly special! 🫶

Photo: Claudia in Cancun for Flytographer. Hannah and Alia capture memories in Cancun with a proposal photoshoot at Playa Delfines. 

2. Avoid common proposal mistakes

It may sound silly, but even when proposing, practice makes perfect. Aside from planning ahead what to say, make sure you 1) rehearse getting down on one knee, and 2) practice opening the ring box. 💍 First, having clothes you can bend in is surprisingly important, and it’s not an act we typically do in our daily life, so do a little practicing when you have some alone time! Second, opening a ring box backwards or upside-down is all too common and can really throw off the moment… or potentially ruin it if said ring were to fall through the slats on a bridge (as has happened in the past 😮‍💨)! That engagement ring is likely one of the most expensive purchases you’ll ever gift, so we all know losing it is probably close to the top of the worst nightmare scenarios when it comes to proposing… so let’s just not go there. 🫣

Hot tip: While this is our only idea that includes things to avoid, we have more insight about a few more things not to do 😬 when you’re proposing! 😉

Photo: Florentina in Vienna for Flytographer. Stan and partner capture memories in Vienna with an engagement photoshoot at the Opera House.

3. Pick a meaningful time of year

Timing is everything, and seasons matter! 🌡 Choosing a special time of year to propose could make your proposal moment even more special. Whether it’s on Valentine’s Day, on your anniversary, by the oceanside in the summertime, with the autumn leaves falling in the crisp weather, or under a shiny Christmas tree during the holiday season — picking a meaningful time of year can make your fairytale feel even more like a dream come true. ✨

Photo: Darine in Banff for Flytographer. Andrew and partner capture memories in Banff with a proposal photoshoot at Lake Bow.

4. Plan a romantic getaway

Surely there isn’t a soul who doesn’t love a romantic getaway, right? 🛫 Even if your partner won’t want an over-the-top-grand-gesture-type proposal doesn’t mean proposing can’t happen on a getaway together. Cities like Paris and New York City are known for being romantic 😘 (and our photographers in these cities are proposal pros!), but if big cities aren’t your thing, what about something a little more chill and slow-paced? What about a private beach or mountaintop proposal? Hot air balloon ride? Outdoor adventure? Skywriting a proposal message over the ocean? Fireworks display (too much? We had to try)? The point is: Think outside the box! 👍 Romance hits differently for everyone, so a customized romantic getaway for you and your love can make them fall even more head-over-heels before, during, and after you pop the question. 🥰

Photo: Mattia in Lake Como for Flytographer. Roland and partner capture memories in Lake Como with a proposal photoshoot in Varenna.

5. Make restaurant reservations for after

No matter what kind of marriage proposal idea you have, scheduling a restaurant reservation 🍽 for after your proposal moment is a great way to sit and reflect on all that transpired alongside your significant other throughout your journey. Oftentimes after a proposal, your new fiancé may need some time to take in all that’s happened (😱) — “How long have you had the ring!?” “Have you talked to my parents!?” “How did you think to hire a photographer!?” 😉 Sitting down and looking each other in the eye at a lovely meal is the perfect way to complete this full-circle, big moment excitement. Making reservations for after your proposal not only gives them a reason to look nice (should you tell them you’re going out to eat in advance) but also provides some food and drinks to settle those nerves post-question-popping!

Photo: Flytographer in Quebec City. Lauren and partner capture memories in Quebec City with a photoshoot at Basse-Ville.

6. Recreate the first date

Your love story ❤️ is uniquely yours, and particularly if your partner is sentimental, recreating or somehow incorporating your first date with your proposal makes this special moment even better. Spoiler alert: Real life isn’t always romantic (shocking, we know), so even if your first date wasn’t the best you’ve ever been on, it was yours. Creating bookends with your first date and the moment you’re committing to each other forever will surely give you bonus points in the book of romantic love. 🤗 Whether your own proposal happens in your living room, in a photo booth, or while you’re skydiving, your unique marriage proposal idea can always be tagged with your first date to really remind your lover why your first date was the best last first date ever! 🤭

Photo: Tracy in Portland for Flytographer. Jared and partner capture memories in Portland with a proposal photoshoot downtown.

7. Include family members

Including family members and/or special loved ones in your proposal is something that many couples love. Whether or not yours is a public proposal, keeping those who are most special to you hidden until the big moment, and/or including them immediately afterwards, can help elevate and heighten all the happy emotions — think of it like a somewhat impromptu engagement party! Don’t be afraid to assign help to helpers — champagne and glasses, environmental confetti… most of the time, those invited will be more than thrilled to be included and will be ecstatic to help make this moment perfect… and it takes stress off your plate! Bonus expansion: If you have a particularly zealous crew, there’s always the idea of a flash mob! 🤪 (Really though, a flash mob proposal is kind of brilliant, right? If you can pull this off, please, please make sure you take suggestion #1 seriously. 👊)

Photo: Kimon and Alexandra in Santorini for Flytographer. Brandon and partner capture memories in Santorini with a proposal photoshoot in Imerovigli Village.

8. Incorporate an activity your partner loves

What about incorporating activities that your partner loves? Reading or books? 📚 Jigsaw puzzles? 🧩 Favourite foods? 🍦 Special songs? 🎶 Stargazing? 🔭 Creative ways to pop the question are endless — you may not even have to dig deep, just get creative! The answer to a unique marriage proposal idea may be even closer than you think.

For more ideas on how to make a perfect personal proposal check out these tips on planning the perfect proposal!  ❤️

Photo: Amanda in Horseshoe Bend for Flytographer. Oliver and partner capture memories in Horseshoe Bend with a proposal photoshoot.

9. Book a boat ride

What is it about boats ⚓️ that are so romantic? Whether or not a yacht 🛥 is on the agenda, boats are a great way to enjoy your proposal experience, and it doesn’t need to be wildly elaborate. Boat rides can provide a lovely, private proposal with beautiful views in so many locations. Oftentimes larger boats have music, and you can enjoy a little sunset-serenade (playlist optional). Whether it’s a private charter, or you’re booking tickets on a night cruise, organizing a boat ride could be a great place to pop the question!

Want to book a boat ride for after the proposal? Check out these engagement photo ideas to celebrate your proposal! 💍

Photo: Olga in Venice for Flytographer. Adrian and partner capture memories in Venice with a proposal photoshoot on a gondola ride.

10. Organize a picnic

One of the most classic, low-key, romantic ways to make a big impact with low stress is to organize an outdoor proposal picnic. This romantic proposal idea 🧺 can be set up in advance (think rose petals, a blanket, basket, favourite foods, bubbly… all ready to go!), or you can bring everything and set it up together to really hit them with the surprise element. “Will you marry me?” sounds even more romantic when you’re together in a special spot with the love of your life. Another fun idea is to prepare a scavenger hunt that leads to a picnic spot! 💘 This fun game takes a bit more planning but really hits home on that sentiment 🥹 we keep coming back to.

Photo: Maria in San Clemente for Flytographer. Simeon and partner capture memories in San Clemente with a proposal photoshoot at the San Clemente Pier.

Capturing Your Proposal

These best proposal ideas have been particularly fun and special for us to collect and share with you — we’re so excited for you and your future alongside your forever partner! 👏 We hope we’ve given you some new inspo before you pop the big question, or maybe even reiterated that whatever you have in mind may already be perfectly right for you two. 🤍

Congrats in advance! 🥂