A Fairytale Proposal at a Castle in Rome, Georgia

A few months ago, I got the text from one of our best friends, Chase: he was ready to propose to Sierra this May! After I finished screaming (and maybe crying a little), we dove headfirst into planning mode. Now, if you know Sierra, you know she is the queen of figuring things out before they happen—so our first hurdle was coming up with a plan sneaky enough to keep her guessing. Thankfully, I’ve done their photos a few times before, so we created a perfect cover story: a “casual” shoot where Will was just testing new video gear. She totally bought it. Step one—check!

Next came location scouting, and we knew we needed something magical—literally. Sierra is the biggest Disney girl, so we landed on a stunning castle-like campus that felt like it was pulled straight from Tangled or Frozen. Think elegant staircases, reflection ponds, live oaks, castle halls, and huge wooden doors. People travel from all over just to shoot there, and for good reason. When I say this place is a fairytale come to life, I’m not exaggerating. Once we locked in the location, Sierra was OBSESSED. She texted me so many times about how pretty it looked and how excited she was for the shoot—meanwhile I had to keep a straight face and play it cool.

And let’s talk about her outfit. Y’all... she says she didn’t know, but the way she picked out this gorgeous teal-green princess dress, styled everything perfectly, and before choosing THE dress, sent me “red or white?” dress options in advance?? Like how am I supposed to answer that!! I was seriously sweating trying to reply without giving anything away. Sierra might be nosy, but we love her for it. She was genuinely so excited, and it made the whole lead-up even more fun. The only thing left to worry about was the weather. The forecast that week was awful—70% chance of rain all day—but somehow, by a total miracle, the skies completely cleared. Classic Georgia spring magic!

We arrived at the location and got about 20 minutes into the shoot when it became very clear that Chase couldn’t hold it in much longer. Poor guy was sweating, and not just from the heat! Will was in full mission-mode, coordinating the hidden microphone and making sure the ring was handed off discreetly with zero box in sight. I led them to the center of the long reflection pond, castle perfectly in the background, and gave a sweet little prompt: “Close your eyes and think of your favorite memory with Chase… he’s going to run up and bear hug you.” Spoiler: there was no bear hug. Instead, she opened her eyes to find him down on one knee, asking her to spend forever with him.

It was everything. The golden hour glow, the castle backdrop, the breeze through her dress—it all came together like a scene from a movie. And the best part? Sierra had no idea what was about to happen. She’s dreamed of this day with Chase for years, and watching it unfold in real time was one of the most emotional things I’ve ever witnessed. I cry at basically every sweet client moment (no shame), but this one hit different. Seeing two of our closest friends take such a huge step, and being the one who got to capture it, was such a full-circle moment for me.

To Sierra and Chase: THANK YOU for trusting us to help create and document your forever memory. It was truly a fairytale in every way. I’m so honored to have been part of this chapter and cannot wait for the wedding (yes, I’ll be crying then too). Love you both so much!