Every good proposal location starts with one question: what would she love? For this one, he and I spent a while on that question together. He told me what he was hoping for, and what he knew about her taste — and slowly, the answer became clear. It had to be a Japanese garden in Kyoto.

The garden we chose is a genuinely beautiful place, but it is not somewhere you can simply walk in and start a photoshoot. Photography there requires permission in advance, so I took care of that side of things before the day. It is the kind of behind-the-scenes work most couples never see, and that is exactly how it should be.

He and I had mapped out where in the garden the proposal would happen, and on the day he kept me updated with messages the whole way through. On top of that, their friends and family were there too — several of them had reached out to me beforehand so we were all on the same page. With that many people quietly working together, everything ran beautifully.

She was completely surprised. He looked so happy and relieved that it had all come together. And the moment it was done, their friends and family came over to celebrate. I photographed the whole family together, group shots, photos with friends — everyone wanted to be part of it, and showing them the photos afterwards brought out more smiles all round.

Then I took the two of them to the spots in the garden I had scouted earlier. It was late afternoon by then, and the setting sun was turning everything gold. Some of my favourite frames of the day came from that stretch — soft light, quiet paths, and two people who had just said yes.

We talked the whole time, too. Anime, manga, and especially games — it turned out we all love games, so we ended up talking about Nintendo for far longer than I expected. It was one of those sessions where the conversation flows as easily as the shoot itself.

Both of them were warm and kind, and their friends and family were just as bright and welcoming. I had a wonderful time with all of them. Thank you for trusting me with such an important day — congratulations, and please come back to Japan soon.

If you are imagining a proposal in a Kyoto garden built around what your partner loves, my Kyoto packages are right this way.