Surprise Wedding Proposal Photoshoot in Sintra With Charlie & Eva

It was October and in his first email, Charlie told me he and his girlfriend, Eva, were planning a weekend getaway in Lisbon next May and he needed my help planning and photographing his surprise wedding proposal in Sintra.

After getting to know Charlie a bit we set a perfect plan for the perfect proposal until… it poured rained!

The week before their arrival the weather was just perfect as it usually is during portuguese Spring days but as soon as they landed in Lisbon, it started to rain — a lot — and the forecast was that it would be like that until the day after they return home (of course it would!).

Faced with the unpredictability of the weather, we rescheduled the proposal for a few hours earlier as forecast said it wouldn’t rain then.

After setting up their picnic in the perfect and private location, taking test shots and trying the playlist one last time, Charlie and Eva where on their way to the location. As I see them approaching… It started to rain again!

Within less than 5 minutes, Fernando (my assistant) and I undid the picnic, redid it under a giant rock and got out of the way just in time for Charlie and Eva to arrive at the place.

If they were bothered by the rain or not it was hard to tell. As Charlie guides Eva into the woods to the picnic set up while a tailored playlist gently played for them, time seemed to have stopped. I was still hidden while they lived that very moment with all their presence and intention. As Eva said yes, Charlie then signaled me that it was time for Eva to know that she has been caught on camera — surprise!

Now, faced with the cold reality that it was raining, Charlie and Eva had 2 options:
1. either cancel the rest of their proposal photoshoot or
2. simply embrace the rain and let it be part of the experience.

I’m so glad they went with the second one. In Portugal we’ve this popular saying that goes like “wet wedding, blessed wedding” and although this wasn’t Charlie and Eva’s wedding (yet), they sure were — and are — blessed!

We might all have been soaking wet, but none of us would have it any other way!

Thank you Charlie and Eva, for dancing in the rain instead of running away from it. There is beauty in everything around us, if we only look around attentively and you certainly did that with your great humor and energy! Cheers to you and to a lifetime of adventures together, be it sunny or stormy! 🥂

With love,

Patrícia

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