Engagement photo session in Florence

Find an intimate venue to propose.

So, Hendrick was planning a romantic trip to Florence, Italy, and he envisioned popping the question over dinner. As you can see, we prefer natural daylight, so usually, we don’t encourage an indoor/nighttime kind of setting. We have been planning and shooting a pic-nic wedding proposal, which is just spectacular on a hot summer evening. On the other hand, Hendrick wrote us an email looking for a very particular situation, and he was coming here on a pretty cold late-autumn night. Moreover, he had a tight schedule and a few preferences:

• A private gastronomic dinner made by a chef and served in an old and beautiful church. This one especially made us hesitated: even in Florence, there aren’t so many places fitting these requirements.
• A violinist that could play for him and his soon-to-be fiancé
• Flowers on the table
• And a photographer to capture the moment.

Accepting the challenge

As you can imagine, shooting indoor is generally more complicated for many reasons:

• The scene might not be picture-perfect. Not all the Trattorias are suitable for a romantic photo session. Most of those places are way too crowded and dark to get a beautiful frame.
• For the same reason above, it’s more challenging to keep the surprise effect.
• It’s an added expense.

 On the other hand, we love challenges and new adventures. That could be a chance for us to think outside the box and shoot something new. Then, we started to think about a few possible options to present to him, according to the many places we visited for work during these years. Finally, we came out with a couple of choices, and we contacted them to know their prices and availability. Eventually, we asked Hendrick his budget range, and according to that, we started working together.

From dreams to reality

Despite the short notice – Hendrick contacted us only one week before the date – the Four Seasons Hotel in Florence was available to offer a romantic dinner in its magnificent Lobby Chapel. A dedicated butler welcomed the couple with two glasses of prosecco and passing canapés, in a dream-like setting of a private chapel surrounded by original frescoes from the 1400s. Meanwhile, a violinist played a tender melody, and we introduced ourselves as planned. In the previous days, we prepared with Hendrick a plausible scenario to keep the proposal as a surprise. Everything set, so after he read a short poem, he finally got down on his knees and popped the question. If you’re curious to know the rest of the story, please check out the selection of our favorite photos at the end of this post.