A few weeks ago I was asked by my friend, Naomi Timperley, to meet up with a guy she had met with a great idea. I met with Rob Illidge at the studio on Oldham Street to discuss his plans. He didn’t want to give too much away but I knew it was about photography.

We met and he explained his idea, it’s not totally new but he believes the first business of it’s kind in the UK. His company, Captured Proposals, are assisting couples in creating great proposal situations and ensuring that the proposal is captured in a candid or paparazzi style of photography.

I already capture weddings so doing proposals seemed like a natural inclusion in my work. I said yes and we have been working towards our first shoots. 

Our first customer was Imtiaz and Anisa, I've known Imtiaz for years and he called me to discuss a proposal and wedding shoot, not knowing about Rob’s idea. He and Rob discussed some ideas and they decided on The Hilton hotel Manchester.

The shoot was in Cloud 23 in the Hilton. I did a recce two days before to see what the lighting would be like at 6 o'clock. It was very dark but I thought with the camera equipment we had we should be able to pull it off. We reserved a table for the proposal couple and the table for ourselves, I was joined by Angela a photographer who has helped me on other wedding shoots.

Obviously we couldn't use flash because that would make us standout. We had to capture the amazing view at the same time of the couple proposing which made all the lighting problems a bigger issue.

On the actual night of the proposal I waited in reception and attempted to capture shots from the stairs ensuring that the Anisa didn't see me. I have not been so excited about a shoot for a long time. I thought she was going to see me but the environment helped to produce a natural cover.

Angela was waiting upstairs for the couple to exit the lift and she took over until I got upstairs. 

We continued snapping away upstairs and were amazed at how easy it is to pretend your shooting around and not be detected. 

Anyway, Imtiaz went down on one knee to propose and totally blocked the shot. I was trying to shoot around him but he kept covering the shot, I still think that even with these issues we managed to Capture the Proposal correctly. She said yes and there was a small cheer around the bar.

We are now planning the wedding photography.