If you and your partner are beach lovers, proposing by the ocean might be the perfect choice. With the sun-setting behind you and the waves crashing along the shoreline, your proposal has the potential to be incredibly romantic. To ensure your beach proposal goes off without a hitch, here are the most important factors to consider: the beach, the time of day, whether you want the moment captured by a professional photographer, weather, organizing transportation to the beach (for them once you have set up the proposal). And with all proposals, ensuring your engagement ring is sized correctly.
Which Beach to Propose at
If there are beaches that hold special significance to you and your partner, I would recommend proposing there! Otherwise, look for quieter beaches with beautiful backdrops. If it is in your budget, you can even go ahead and reserve a private beach.
Time of Day
I recommend either at sunrise or sunset. The lighting at these times of day is optimal, so if you are hiring an engagement photographer, you will have the most spectacular engagement photographs. If you are both morning people, beaches are always quieter in the morning, so it might be a good idea to do an early morning proposal.
Music
Do you want music playing in the background or would you rather there were no distractions. The music could be a live band or it could be a playlist you have curated or perhaps you have a shared Spotify playlist that is special to you both.
Beach Proposal Ideas
Picnic
Candle Lit Picnic:
You can use fake candles and scatter them across your picnic blanket or just around the perimeter. You could also create a walkway up to the picnic blanket. If you are creating an aisle, you could get a sign with your names or that says, “Will you marry me?” to stand behind the blanket.
Flower Petals Scattered Around the Picnic
You can scatter flower petals (like rose petals) around and on-top of the picnic blanket.
Snacks and Wine
This can be applied to any picnic blanket proposal idea, but I would get some wine or champagne to commemorate the moment they say yes. If you do not want to pop the question the second you sit down at the picnic blanket, I would get some snacks like grapes, crackers, and cheese. Just make sure you keep an eye out for seagulls!
At a Bonfire
In Los Angeles, there are some public beaches that allow you to have private bonfires. Once you secure a spot, set up the bonfire and layout some comfy pillows and blankets. A bonfire is perfect for a cozy beach proposal. You could even bring the ingredients to make s’mores! The bonfire and s’mores allows you to reset before you propose, so you are less likely to jumble over your words.
A Photoshoot
To pull off a photoshoot proposal, you are going to organize a romantic couples photoshoot on the beach. Your partner is going to provide input into the photographer and beach. The beauty of this proposal is that they won’t think twice about wanting a quiet beach and dressing up! Then you will separately email or call the photographer and let them know that you intend to propose. Together you can concoct a plan to execute your proposal. One of my personal favorites is having your partner turn away and tell them that you are going to surprise attack them with a bear hug. Then I tell them that I actually want to do a different pose first and that they need to turn around. When they turn around, you will be on your knee and bam. Your proposal is captured perfectly, and they are entirely unsuspecting.
Rose Petal Path
This fits in with a picnic blanket beach set up, but you can set up a pathway up to the picnic blanket out of rose petals. If you don’t want your partner to anticipate the beach proposal, this one is not going to be the right choice for you.
Rose Petal Heart
You could even make a heart out of rose petals and write your initials in the middle. Or You could even leave it blank and propose in the center.
Pet Proposal
If you have a pet or your partner does, you are likely obsessed with it. So, they would love if their pet is a core part of their special moment. There are tons of beaches that are pet friendly, but not all are, so double check and look up a dog friendly beach and bring them along.
A Sunrise Beach Proposal
We all talk about sunset proposals a lot because they are stunning, but so is a sunrise proposal. And even better, beaches are deserted in the early hours, so any popular beach will feel like a private beach. The only pitfall is that it is more challenging to hide a photographer. Although, all photographers can pretend to be taking photographs of the waves crashing, so as long as you make a mark in the sand to know where to propose so you are in frame, it should not be too hard.
Write it in the Sand
This one can be challenging depending on the tide, but you can write it in the sand, so when you take your partner on a walk along the beach, you stumble upon it, and then you go down on one knee and as them to marry you. Another way you could do this is write a heart in the sand with your partner and put your initials in the middle. Then after drawing this, turn to your partner and ask them for the rest of their lives.
Downfalls of a Beach Proposal
The main pitfall is the unpredictability of the weather. Luckily, planning a beach proposal in Los Angeles has less variation in the weather than if you were planning to propose on an East Coast Beach. But regardless, it still needs to be taken into consideration. To circumvent this problem, make sure you have a plan B and check the weather forecast in the upcoming days. This way, if it is meant to be a heavy downpour, you can quickly pivot!
The second shortcoming is that beaches are public. So, unless you secure a private beach for the moment, you and your partner will likely be sharing the beach with others. If you are trying to execute a surprise proposal, onlookers might draw attention to your proposal before you’re ready to get down on your knee. So, I would recommend either choosing a quieter beach or renting out a private beach. In Los Angeles, a gorgeous beach is El Matador Beach, but I can guarantee there will be at least one other person proposing there. Whereas Crystal Cove Beach is much quieter. So, at Crystal Cove you will be the only one proposing and it will be a private, intimate moment.
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