Love wins.
Throughout its many ups and downs, twists and turns, highs and lows, 2020 has proven to be a year beyond compare.
The light that always cuts through the fog is love, pure and simple, shining brightly in spite of everything blocking its path. We have had the honour of capturing thousands of proposals around the world since we launched in 2013, but none seem more poignant than this year’s selection, with couples doing whatever was necessary in order to cement their future lives together.
The best-laid plans may have been sidelined or rescheduled or reimagined, but one thing we know for sure — love is never cancelled.
Check out these romantic stories for proposal ideas to get you on track to your own special version of “Will you marry me?”
Gregory & Cha’Koya
Maui, Hawaii | January 5, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met through a mutual friend in DC. At the time, I was living in Oakland, CA and Cha’koya was living in DC. Within a month, I was on a plane back to DC to visit her. At dinner one night, I looked over at her and said, ‘I can picture us and a couple of kiddos.’ After two years of being long distance, I moved across the country to join Cha’koya in DC.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “During the initial photo shoot, I had the ring box in my back pocket and had to manage to keep my body facing forward so that my curious fiancée wouldn’t start asking questions. I can remember a few instances when I had to grab her hand so that she wouldn’t graze the ring box just below my lower back. Once we had taken a few shots by the lifeguard stand and on the edge of the beach, Rojeena signalled to me that the lighting was perfect. As the waves receded back into the ocean, I grabbed my fiancée’s hand and told her, ‘You already know what this is.’ Immediately, she was overwhelmed with emotion. I told her how much she had already impacted my life and how much I was looking forward to advancing our relationship for years to come. Our relationship started more than 3,000 miles apart, and now just over two years later, we are officially engaged and finally in the same time zone to start our next chapter.”
– Gregory
Trever & Robert
Budapest, Hungary | January 8, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met almost a decade ago; we’re high school sweethearts who found our way back to each other after many years. He’s brilliant and handsome and kind; we say the same thing at the same time way too often. He’s always been the person who makes me laugh the hardest and inspires me to be better. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to spend our lives together.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “He was suspicious of the need to wake up so early, so I don’t think it was a total surprise! When I got down on one knee, the look on his face was something I’ll never forget. Everything I’d planned to say went out the window when I saw that face, and I just spoke from the heart (though neither of us remembers what I actually said). It was the special moment I’d imagined, and with Flytographer and Meli it was seamless.”
– Trever
Conner & Victoria
San Diego, California | January 11, 2020
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “We were in San Diego because my fiancée was interviewing for a job. We took a few extra days to enjoy the city and I knew it was the perfect place to propose.I looked to Flytographer to help capture a surprise proposal, perfect for a sunset photo shoot in La Jolla. I wasn’t sure where I should propose, but our photographer, Jessica, worked with me to discover beautiful places in San Diego. Jessica’s recommendations allowed me to select the perfect place.”
– Conner
Gaurav & Niti
Sintra, Portugal | January 22, 2020
LOVE STORY: “She’s my best friend. I’ve known her since we were teenagers! We both grew up in the same town and love to travel so I knew I had to do it abroad. One of our favourite hobbies together is hiking. Pena Palace in Sintra was the perfect location to get that high view we both enjoy.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “The proposal went amazing! We were on a private tour of Sintra and the Flytographer Maria was already waiting at the proposal location that was on the itinerary. She pretended to be a friendly tourist and snapped a picture for us. Both the tour guide and Flytographer took us to the best-secluded view spot in the palace where I can pop the question. Instead of posing for the picture, I proceeded to reach in my inside jacket pocket and took out the ring box. My now-fiancée was so excited she immediately grabbed me before I could kneel. She began to tear up and maybe so did I! I proposed and the rest is history.”
– Gaurav
Denes & Kristen
Austin, Texas | January 31, 2020
LOVE STORY: “Kristen and I met after I had uprooted my life in Portland, Oregon and moved back to Chicago. We met through Bumble. On our first date, I met her for lunch after a job interview and we got our fingers messy eating wings! I soon found out we both had a love for food and travel and we hit it off from there. (Little did I know on our first date that Kristen turned out to be an excellent food and travel photographer.)”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “I chose to propose in Austin because I had heard it was a fun city with a great food scene. Neither of us had spent any time there before so I wanted to make a new memory there. The proposal was great! Our photographer Macy was super friendly and communicative, gave me some great ideas and also chose the perfect time for us to get the perfect shots! My fiancée was completely surprised by the proposal, which was the best part.”
– Denes
Akshay & Anju
Chicago, Illinois | February 2, 2020
LOVE STORY: “Anju and I met each other during our first undergrad semester in India in 2010. We were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, and it was during that time we also got to learn that her mom and my dad were friends during university. Over the year our friendship grew stronger; we secretly did have a thing for each other but at the time we both were seeing other people. As fate would have it, during our last semester in 2014, we hung out and danced together at an Armin Van Buren concert … she likes to say it was more like absinthe fairies rather than sparks flying that night. A week or two later of late-night texts, dates, and back-and-forth flirting, we started seeing each other. It is going to be seven years this year on the 7th of February.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “Chicago has been my second home after Mumbai, India. Anju and I both moved to Illinois at the same time to study for our Master’s. For us, Chicago has been the place where we created our memories away from home together. This city has always been so kind to us — the people, the vibe — we were so drawn to it. For me, it made perfect sense to ask her to marry me in Chicago.
“So what was most important was the date 02/02/2020. Anju is fond of numbers, especially unique dates. It really mattered to me that I proposed to her on that date. At the time I was set to move back to India for good and I wanted to make sure we were engaged. I told her since I couldn’t get her married on that day I would do something special like a date for her. She’s always been the planner in our relationship but I told her I’d like to take charge. I told her I would take her to this fancy restaurant, but instead, I took her to the beach, pretending that this place I wanted to take her was shut and it’ll open in some time, so let’s walk to the end of the walkway. I told her the view was excellent and it truly was something we’ve never seen. Once [Flytographer] Michael was there to signal the keyword that the lighting was perfect, I got down on one knee; she knew exactly what this was and I looked at her knowing this was exactly the moment she has been waiting for her entire life.
“In 2014 I found the center of my universe and oh how right I was … I cannot imagine my life without her as my partner. Today, after nearly 7 years of travelling 10,000 miles together and making 10,000 more memories, we are engaged and set to get married on 12/02/2021. Anju is my person forever.”
– Akshay
Sunny & Emily
Honolulu, Hawaii | February 7, 2020
Jason & Lindsay
New York City, New York | February 8, 2020
LOVE STORY: “She is simply the most amazing woman in the world. Every day I am with her it is a blessing — and the days I am not with her I can’t stop thinking about her. Whether it’s a special date night, a simple evening meal at home or getting through a hard day at work, she makes life amazing.“
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “Seaport in lower Manhattan is simply majestic. From the stunning cobblestone streets to the inviting quaint architecture, it is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places in all of NYC. Outside of opening the ring box the wrong way, it went absolutely amazing. The photos need little explanation of the surprise, the emotion, and the love felt during our special day.”
– Jason
Nikit & Misha
Singapore, The Republic of Singapore | February 11, 2020
Noah & Nathali
Los Angeles, California | February 14, 2020
LOVE STORY: “Nathali and I met when she first started at UCLA in 2014 and we got close on a service trip in Jamaica. We remained close for the next 4 years and it wasn’t until we went to my company’s holiday party ‘as friends’ that we realized we wanted to be something more. Every day since then has been better than the last, and I can’t wait to spend forever together.“
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “The proposal really went better than I could have imagined! I had put together a memory chest of a bunch of nostalgic items from our relationship. Pamphlets from concerts and shows we’ve gone to, rocks from parks we’ve camped in, notes we’ve written to each other, and mementos from too many hilarious nights to count. She had thought that the chest was just a Valentine’s Day gift, but when we got to the end, I pulled out the ring to represent all of the memories we still have to make. As if the sunset backdrop wasn’t enough, there was hardly anyone on the pier and there was a ukulele player cycling through every classic love song in the book. Couldn’t have imagined a better backdrop!“
– Noah
Anthony & Daniela
Park City, Utah | February 16, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met in high school at 15 years old and we just celebrated our 7 year anniversary!“
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “We were walking towards White Barn at Park City Utah, a favourite location we always need to tour. A snowstorm was occurring and it was about 17 degrees, freezing. We took a selfie and continued to walk forward. That’s when I shouted Daniela’s name and when she turned around, Gabriella caught the whole moment. It was spectacular! Definitely an experience I won’t forget.“
– Anthony
Danny & Jen
San Francisco, California | February 18, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met about 7 years ago through mutual friends. It wasn’t a planned date or a planned meetup. It just happened organically. I wasn’t supposed to be there that night but I was and we met. The rest, as they say, is history.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “We’ve never been to San Francisco. I wanted to have a picture-perfect memory attached to the moment. It may seem lame and touristy for the locals, but even they have to admit that they’ll never get tired of staring at that bridge. Every time my fiancée looks at her ring she’ll be reminded of the sand, the waves, the sunset, and the bridge. That’s more than enough for me.
“I had planned to meet the photographer (who was posing as a friendly tourist) down at Marshal Beach for sunset pictures of me getting down on one knee. Not being from around there (and being very nervous) I made the huge mistake of starting the hike down to the beach way too early. We got there 20-30 minutes early and I had to find a way to stall my girl without being too obvious. I had to hide my nerves from making sure she doesn’t see the ring box bulging out of my pocket, hide my obvious people-scanning to find the photographer, hide my general nerves of the moment, etc. The photographer finally came (thankfully very early) and there was no turning back. Nothing can really prepare you for this moment, but once it was over I felt the weight of many months of planning and secret-keeping lift right off me. She said yes so I’d say it went pretty well!”
– Danny
Joey & Alli
Los Angeles, California | March 2, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met in high school and started dating right towards the end of it. I knew pretty quickly that I loved her and by the back end of college, I knew she was the one. We’ve made it through thick and thin, and we’ve always had fun and kept each other laughing.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “I proposed on a hiking trail in Palos Verdes looking out into the Pacific and towards Catalina Island, which we were heading to later that day. I set up two ‘fake-outs’ for my fiancée, Alli, because I thought she was suspicious. First I took her to one scenic view called Portuguese Point and gave her an anniversary gift. I thought the gift would make her think that the proposal wouldn’t happen today. The second fake-out was that we got to the end of the hike and I turned around to start walking back to the car. I thought that would make her think again it wasn’t going to happen. Luckily for her, our photographer was waiting just a bit further up the trail so I could get down on one knee and surprise her with the proposal.
“Jenny was amazing. She did a great job acting like a normal hiker and pretending to be uninvolved. She even made a last-minute adjustment to the proposal location which turned out to be amazing. It was more scenic than my original spot and it was on our route anyway. After the proposal, we had a really fun session and Jenny made us laugh and feel confident while we took more photos.”
– Joey
Collin & Paige
Tulum, Mexico | March 6, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met in college in an engineering class. She asked for my number so we could study later, and we ended up being a perfect match! I knew she was the one after we went on many adventures together and moved in together.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “The day of the proposal was really busy! We visited ruins in Coba in the morning, went snorkelling in another cenote in the middle of the day, and ended up making it to Cenote Cristalino for the proposal right on time, dressed in our nicest clothes from the trip. I still caught her by surprise, even though she may have suspected something was different. I love that her eyes were watering with tears of joy before I could even pull the ring out of my pocket. I loved our special moment, and how well it was caught on camera. It was in a nice private area which we both always wanted for our proposal moment, and I’m so glad everything went according to plan. I’m thankful for my friends’ help in planning the ideas, and for Flytographer’s help in realizing the dream proposal!”
– Collin
Mike & Kristin
Honolulu, Hawaii | March 7, 2020
Jennifer & Rebecca
New York City, New York | March 9, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met online! Our distance was outside of each other’s app search parameters, so we’re still not sure how we got lucky enough to match. I realized I was in love with Becca after about 6 months of dating when we went to NYC for Pride. I proposed in Christopher Park in NYC, the site of the Stonewall Riots in 1969 that marked the beginning of the modern gay rights movement and current location of the yearly pride festivities. I fell in love with her beautiful eyes, sense of humour, confidence and care-taking nature to her friends and family.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “I got her to Greenwich Village by saying we were doing an LGBT history walking tour. Once in the park, our photographer pretended to be associated with the tour and I asked him to take a picture of us while we waited for the tour to start so he could block us out in a good spot. Immediately after, I got into position and onto one knee. I was so nervous — I think my partner and I both blacked out a little while it was happening!”
– Jennifer
Luis & Courtney
Banff, Alberta | March 9, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met in high school but we lost touch after graduation. We reconnected on social media after Courtney had moved away. Once she moved back, we started to spend more time together. About four years after that, we started dating. That was over six years ago.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “Courtney thought that the photographer was just another tourist taking pictures. As soon as she saw the box, she started crying and never actually answered the question. In the back of her mind, she was thinking ‘We need to give this girl our email address so she can email us the pictures’ and was so surprised to find out that she was hired to be there. Megan was super sweet, patient and easy to work with. The pictures came out beautiful. Better than I ever could have imagined!”
– Luis
Christine & Ann Marie
London, England | March 10, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met at a banquet. We saw each other from afar. The moment we met, time stood still in one of those corny, romantic chick-flick type of ways. She became nervous, and after our brief hello, Ann Marie ran away from me, never to talk to me again for the rest of the night. We met a second time, six months later; I forced her to allow me to buy her an egg sandwich, and the rest is history.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “Prior to the proposal, Ann Marie had demanded that she receive a speech when the big moment would happen. Instead, every morning leading up to us going to London, I wrote her good morning love notes. The beginning letter of the first word of the notes would eventually spell out “W-I-L-L Y-O-U M-A-R-R-Y M-E”. As such, I showed her a picture of the notes spelling out the phrase with the ring box next to it, and I said to her that she didn’t need a speech, because I’ve been telling her how I’ve felt all along. She was speechless, shocked, cried, but was able to muster out the word ‘YES!’ We had a blast with our photographer thereafter and was able to capture our love, our laughs, and the smiles we have shared over the past 5 years together.”
– Christine
Salvatore & Jessica
New York City, New York | March 18, 2020
LOVE STORY: “Jessica and I met, like so many these days, on a dating app. Jessica says she knew I was the one when I showed up with a toy for her cat on our first date.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “I chose Central Park simply because so many other ideas I had were just not available to me amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. It ended up being a beautiful location for an amazing day. Jessica and I did some walking around Central Park and eventually stopped at a lake-viewing area, overlooking the iconic San Remo building. I started to read her a letter I had written and that’s when I realized just how nervous I was. Jessica seemed to take a few seconds to realize what was happening and that’s when she burst into tears. I asked her to marry me and she said yes, even though I had opened the ring box upside down!”
– Salvatore
Robert & Fatima
Tampa, Florida | April 11, 2020
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “I was originally going to propose in Puerto Rico but had to cancel because of COVID-19, so I ended up proposing at an empty hotel along Clearwater Beach. The GM at Opal Sands at Clearwater Beach set everything up. We had the entire back pool and bar area to ourselves overlooking the Gulf of Mexico at sunset. He also threw in a free room for the night!”
– Robert
Stephen & Emily
Breckenridge, Colorado | June 14, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We went to college together, and first got to know each other when Steve started working at a late-night student-run eatery that I was managing at the time — so I was technically his manager. We started dating shortly after he stopped working there, moved to NYC after graduation, and now live together in a too-small apartment.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “Steve got the ring back in February, but the pandemic pretty severely curtailed our travel plans and most other opportunities for scenic proposals. We planned the trip to Colorado more or less last-minute and he seized the opportunity to take advantage of the beautiful area around Breckenridge.
“Steve had been in touch with our wonderful photographer, Kristin, beforehand and she was waiting for us incognito at the proposal site at Sapphire Point. We started to walk towards down towards the bluff when Steve pulled me off the path (getting the sunlit and snow-capped mountains squarely into the shot) and got down on one knee.”
– Emily
Austin & Rachel
Palm Beach, Florida | July 3, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met through a mutual friend and instantly knew it was something special.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “I surprised my girlfriend with a weekend getaway to Palm Beach to The Breakers, her favourite resort. I proposed in the same spot we had sat at 2 years prior on the same weekend to enjoy the view of the ocean.”
– Austin
Ryan & Heather
Tulum, Mexico | July 22, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met at work. We worked in different areas, but always caught each other’s eye in passing or from across the room. We liked the same things, had the same hobbies, and after about a year we realized we had something a lot stronger than just friendship, and we haven’t looked back since.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “With Covid this year, our initial travel plans were cancelled last minute, so I was scrambling to change my plan and location to propose. We came across Tulum and fell in love so we booked a new trip. We loved Tulum’s small town, local, natural feel and the scenery was beautiful. Before we left for Tulum, I got in contact with Claudia through Flytographer and got the location, time, and details set up. As we held each other staring out into the ocean, talking about our journey and how much I loved her, I got on my knee and proposed. Covid tried to throw out my plans, but we made the best of it and it turned out perfectly! The moment was great, the pictures were great and we now have that moment captured forever.”
– Ryan
Kyle & Victoria
Jackson Hole, Wyoming | August 28, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met through mutual friends at a lake trip. Two weeks after we met, we went on a 3-day backpacking trip on the Four Pass Loop by the Maroon Bells in Aspen. On that trip, I fell head over heels for her. I knew then I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I grew up going to Jackson Hole every summer or so for hiking, camping, and fishing. Since we fell in love in the mountains, I wanted to ask her to marry me in the mountains. It is the perfect balance of luxury and adventure!”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “I told Victoria we were going to a nice restaurant to celebrate our 3-year dating anniversary. From there, I said we were a little early for our dinner reservations, but we could drive down the road to look for a good moose-sighting area. A nice gentleman (Peter, our photographer) was taking nature pictures nearby and offered to take a picture on my cellphone and his camera. Right when he said, ‘That looks perfect,’ I got down on one knee and asked Victoria to spend the rest of our lives together and be my wife. I was so filled with adrenaline, I’m not even sure she said yes!”
– Kyle
Austin & Sara
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico | September 9, 2020
Christopher & Hannah
Nantucket, Massachusetts | October 24, 2020
LOVE STORY: “We met in first grade and were always in each other’s lives, but never ran in the same group of friends. Hannah moved away when high school started and came back for her senior year. We reconnected, fell in love, and six years later we can happily say we are engaged!”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “We started a new adventure by moving to Boston last year. Nantucket was one of the last places that we needed to check off on our list of must-visit spots in New England. I had planned to propose to Hannah at sunset at Cisco Beach and was nervous all weekend. The day started out beautifully, and in the afternoon the clouds began to set in. I still convinced Hannah to come along to the beach, and as we were enjoying the view, the sunset peeked through the clouds. I took that as my opportunity to propose and it was the best moment I could have ever asked for! Nantucket was a fabulous destination for our 6-year anniversary trip and a fantastic way to start the rest of our adventures as an engaged and soon-to-be married couple!”
– Christopher
Arthur & Nikki
Tofino, British Columbia | October 30, 2020
Rahul & Bianca
Jackson Hole, Wyoming | November 19, 2020
LOVE STORY: “Bianca and I met back in college through a mutual friend. I had known of her for about a year but finally mustered up enough courage to talk to her. She was extremely reluctant at first, but I was too persistent for her to say no. Before you know it, we were best friends and supported each other growing up as young professionals. Our love story has been going now for nearly seven years, but it feels like this story has just begun. I feel blessed to be able to spend the rest of my life with my college sweetheart.”
PROPOSAL MOMENT: “Bianca is a winter girl through and through. She loves the cold, winter snow and scenery, and adventure. Proposing in Jackson Hole allowed me to encompass all those things. I had initially planned to propose in front of the Teton Mountains, but the weather had other plans that day. As I got down on one knee, we were instantly hit with a blizzard and the Tetons were no longer visible. The snow came down so hard that neither of us remembers what I said, but we do remember how much we were laughing and crying out of pure joy. Bianca of course said YES and the rest is history. I’ll say, initially I was bummed about the blizzard ruining our proposal backdrop, but the pictures turned out absolutely stunning and captured exactly what I would’ve wanted — our genuine love for each other. While every picture has hair flying in the wind and snow all over us, I loved that our excitement and happiness showed through every picture. I could not have asked for a more beautiful, unpredictable proposal!”
– Rahul
Ready for your own happy ending? Discover the most memorable place to propose and capture it all with one of our pro proposal photographers in over 300 destinations around the world. Travel may be on pause for now, but love never is!
