Anna Maria Island couple getting engaged

Anna Maria Island Romantic kissing couple

The Setup:

In September of this year, Evan planned to bring his girlfriend, Alexandra(Allie), to The Beach House Waterfront Restaurant for a dinner with both of their parents. But this wasn't just any dinner, oh no! THIS would be Allie's surprise wedding proposal celebration! Being from Cleveland, Ohio, Evan and Allie have loved getting away to Anna Maria Island for the tropical views and precious family time.

The Plan:

Evan reached out, and we hatched a plan for me to photograph the moment while hidden in plain sight. I arrived at Holmes Beach early and sat down to "read" my book Tacky by Rex King(highly suggest). Did I read? Nope. I was too focused on the overtly obvious ruckus of a boombox down the beach. I also noticed a friendly but clueless family of fishers getting closer and closer to me, ensuring they'd be in the background of this pivotal moment for eternity. As special as that sounded, I moved my post down the beach about 18 feet while texting Evan updates of my whereabouts...but too late! He was walking down as clearly as my nearsighted eyes allowed with his beautiful girlfriend. It was my time to shine as my character of "book reader extraordinaire."

The Moment:

Allie and Evan stopped close by me, and Allie looked my way("KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN PHOEBE"), I told myself as I quickly looked away from this stunning couple. I became too good at my disguise as Evan got down on his knee with his emerald cut ring from Premiere Dimond Source the next time I dared to look up(AHH). I lunged into my bag, grabbed my trusty Canon camera, and leaped into action with as much gracefulness as a baby giraffe. Thank God E+A were too busy being in love to notice. Suddenly, the music ceased to exist, and the fishermen became a blurry background as Allie accepted Evan's proposal with a smile. As they say, the rest is history(although so much is still to come). The night was a great success, and I was thrilled to revel in the happiness of this moment with Evan and Allie. Read more about this iconic couple below from Evan’s point of view!

couple kissing on the shoreline of homes beach as one partner is on one knee proposing

Book your shoot

More about Allie & Evan:

“Evan, how did you and Allie first meet?”

"Allie and I met at our last job...On her first day on the job, she came up to me, shook my hand, and introduced herself as Allie. That was really all we said before we got to know each other. I was very intimidated by her the way she confidently carried herself. I would tell my other co-workers how she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my life and that I wanted to marry her before I even spoke to her. We eventually started talking, and I would go way out of my way to invite her to Browns tailgates and downtown to hang out with her (just about anything to get to spend time with her and any excuse to be with her). I not only loved how beautiful she was but also the most caring, intelligent, compassionate, and funny she was."

“Tell me more about how you two fit into one another's lives.”

“she is truly beautiful inside and out...I always thought to myself and told my siblings that there had to be something about her that wasn't right because everything felt so good, almost too good! My siblings also started to spend time with her who all adore her for who she is. I met her family very early on and absolutely love them...Her dad and I love to spend time together and have very similar hobbies and the same sense of humor... We are both extremely close with our families and love spending time with one another. Hence why I wanted both sets of parents to be down here(for the proposal)."

“What are you two like as a couple?”

"We are both social butterflies, rarely sitting around at home. We love spending quality time with each other, going on walks, and spending time with friends and family... I feel like we both met at the most perfect time, and everything felt right and was perfect how we met and got along. She is truly my best friend."