Ryan and Faith | A Sugarloaf Key Scavenger Hunt ends with a Sammy Creek Proposal
I always love it when my clients come up with clever ways to make the day of their proposal fun for their fiance. In the case of Ryan and Faith, he called me to share that he had created a scavenger hunt for his girlfriend! He would be laying clues all around the island…some nearby, some accessible only by jetski….and they would spend the day looking for them.
The most exciting part would come at the end…when the final stop would reveal none other than the Engagement Ring that Ryan had been keeping a secret all along!
Press “PLAY” To Watch the SLIDESHOW below!
Because the couple were staying in Sugarloaf (part of the Lower Keys, a section of the string of islands here in the Florida Keys…about 17 miles from Key West), I suggested that we use the small but beautiful state park known as Sammy Creek Landing at the end of lower Sugarloaf Blvd. It just so happened that part of the jetski ride Ryan had planned would incorporate this location as well, so he was familiar with it and agreed.
When the couple arrived, I was staked out behind some shrubbery and watched them meander toward the corner of the park. There, Faith found one of the clues that Ryan had left her, tucked under a rock overlooking the canal. She opened the card and they read it together.
Then it was time. Ryan gave me the signal, holding both of Faith’s hands for several seconds, as I came out from behind the picnic awning where I’d been tucked in watching the action. He got down on one knee, and asked her to marry him!
Once he waved me out of hiding, I came over and introduced myself, admitting that I had, in fact, been tucked in nearby and photographing the entire thing! Faith was delighted and so excited, so I offered that we stroll around the location and get some photos of the two of them. They agreed and took off, holding hands with the ocean and greenery in the background.
There was a little clearing off to one side with some pretty purple flowers. I positioned the couple behind them so that I could situate the blumes in the foreground, and put the camera completely on the ground to get an angle that wouldn’t show off too much of the more sparsely-filled areas of the background (neat trick by the way if you’re ever taking a photo somewhere and need to minimize distractions….shoot from a low angle!)
The park also has a few little sea grape bushes - a plant well known in the Keys - so we incorporated these into the shots as well. After that, we headed up to the bridge that goes over the canal. Since the road this location is on is so remote, it was possible to stand literally in the middle of the street to get a cool perspective shot of the couple in the middle of the bridge.
We wrapped up with final congratulations and goodbyes, and the couple headed back to celebrate their newfound engagement in paradise!