Brian + Caryn

Brian contacted me a few months ago about contacting to capture this special moment. They were visiting the beautiful Napa Valley for a few days all the way from Texas and he wanted to propose while they were out wine tasting. He told me she loves pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon so I compiled a list of wineries with great red wines and views. We decided on Cuvaison – if you haven’t heard of it, it’s actually right off of Highway 12 and across the street from the beautiful Domaine Carneros.

The staff at Cuvaison are absolutely wonderful! I went in a few days before the proposal and explained that I was going to capture a proposal during a wine tasting and we put together a plan. They also allowed us to roam their property after the proposal for a shoot, which was just so wonderful of them!

The day of the proposal it was quite windy but absolutely beautiful, nonetheless. I walked into the tasting room and the staff gave me some bottes and a glass of wine so it would look like I was just a photographer doing a product shoot for Cuvaison. And it worked! Caryn didn’t think twice about me being two tables away from them, patiently waiting for the big moment.

I think the funniest part of it was when they later told me that Caryn was bummed that he hadn’t proposed yet and she really thought it was going to happen that day. But then just twenty minutes later, he got down on one knee and did the thang! She was so shocked. We love the happy tears, amirite?! The first thing she asked was “Did you ask my dad?!” Take note guys 😉

I let them soak in the moment and call some of their family members to share the exciting news. And once they were done, we went and ran around in the vineyards and took some photos! The sunset was UNREAL that day and the sky was absolutely beautiful. And when the sun went down over the hills, we hurried down the street to take a few more photos at this little path that’s lined with tall, beautiful trees. Then they went off on their way and had dinner at Allegria, a wonderful Italian restaurant in downtown Napa. It was truly a perfect day!

Photographer: @rebeccaskidgelphoto

Venue: @cuvaison_wine