The surprise on the lawn
Guincho, after the yes
Made with Heirloom Folio
She thought we had met by chance
Miles and Blair: A Surprise Proposal at Seteais Palace and Guincho Beach
Proposal·Sintra & Guincho, Portugal
Proposal
Blair thought they had simply run into the photographers from the wedding the day before. Then Miles knelt on the lawn of the Seteais Palace in Sintra, and we ended the day in the wind at Guincho Beach.
Sintra & Guincho, Portugal·Proposal
I'm still smiling when I think about this proposal.
The day before, the wedding photographer Marina Muravnik and I had photographed an elegant destination wedding, and Miles and Blair were among the guests. Miles had secretly asked Marina to help him plan a proposal, and I photographed it as part of her team.
The idea was simple. Marina and I would be finishing a photoshoot in the gardens of the Seteais Palace in Sintra, today a hotel, where the two of them were staying. They would walk into us, as if by accident.
The lawn in front of the Seteais Palace
The surprise on the lawn
It worked. When they came across us, we greeted them as familiar faces from the wedding the day before. Then Miles asked, as casually as he could, "Oh hey, maybe you could snap a few photos of us?" Blair had no idea. Marina and I were secretly so excited, because we knew exactly what was coming.
Within minutes Miles turned to face her. Her eyes went wide, her hand went to her chest, and then he was down on one knee on the lawn, among the fallen leaves, in golden sunlight. I live for real moments like this one, and photographing their joy made my heart so full.
The moment Blair understood, and the ring
There was a long hug, and there was the ring in its cream box lined with pale blue velvet, resting on the fallen leaves. Then we walked the Seteais gardens together: the grass steps between clipped hedges, the paths under tall trees, the wide lawn in front of the long white façade.
The ring, on the fallen leaves and on her hand
Grass steps and a path under tall trees at Seteais
Guincho, after the yes
From the gardens I drove them to Guincho in my Tesla, down out of the Sintra hills to the ocean, for another hour of photos.
On the coast the wind took over. Miles pulled on a dark knit sweater, Blair put a denim jacket over her dress, and we started on the rocks above the sea. Then they went barefoot to the water's edge, and she spun in the shallows with her hair and dress flying.
The rocks above the Atlantic, and a spin in the shallows
As the sun dropped, it laid long shadows across the sand while Miles twirled her. We finished on the boardwalk by the dunes (yes, Portugal has dunes), out of the worst of the wind, where the sweater came off again and the two of them laughed in the last, low light.
Long shadows on the sand, and the ring on his sweater
To plan the same afternoon, ask the question in the Seteais gardens before the trees take the sun off the lawn, then drive down to Guincho for the last hour before sunset, around 19:00 in mid-October. Guincho is windy on most days, so bring a layer each and keep a hair tie in your pocket. I keep the rest, from what to ask the hotel to how I stay out of sight, for a separate guide.
If you're planning a surprise of your own in Portugal, write to me. I'll help you plan it, and I'll be ready with the camera when you turn to face them.
Behind the lens
Yana Yart
Yana Yart is a wedding, elopement and proposal photographer based in Cascais, Portugal, since 2020, with over 15 years behind the camera; she has lived and worked in 55 countries. She studied architecture for five years and plans every session around the light.
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