Recently I had the pleasure of working with Bwayiask and Kenny to plan their courthouse wedding and engagement shoot. Unbeknownst to Bwayiask though, Kenny actually reached out to me individually in order to help plan his proposal to her! Together we came up with the plan for his surprise proposal to Bwayiask at the lovely Venue 1929 in Springfield, and I cannot wait to share the results with you all here!

Planning the Proposal

Both Bwayiask and Kenny are from Nigeria, but they met here while attending the University of Illinois Springfield. Having met here, and with most of their relationship taking place here in Springfield, it only felt natural to have their wedding day here. Of course that led Kenny to wanting to propose here as well! During Kenny and I’s secret proposal discussions it became clear that he wanted THE very best for Bwayiask. My initial thought for a fitting location was of course the beautiful Washington Park, one of my favorite places in all of Springfield and a special place these two have visited throughout their relationship. Unfortunately the weather would prove to be a little challenging the day of the surprise proposal, so after doing a little research we landed on Venue 1929 as our location!

Venue 1929 is a fabulous space in its own right, and one of my favorite wedding venues in all of Springfield! Venue 1929 does more than weddings though, and actually has a proposal package that includes candles and champagne. These along with the red and white roses that I got from my friends at True Colors Floral combined to set the scene for Kenny’s proposal to Bwayiask. Kenny also had his and Bwayiask’s friends show up to Venue 1929 early so that they’d be there to witness and celebrate the proposal along with them!

Kenny’s Surprise Proposal at Venue 1929

The day of the proposal came, and Kenny lured Bwayiask to the venue by telling her they were going out to try a new restaurant in Springfield. They arrived at Venue 1929 while their friends and I secretly waited inside, prepared for the proposal. As they entered I put on a playlist of songs that Kenny had sent me earlier. Bwayiask was absolutely SHOCKED in the moment, and SO excited! Before getting down on one knee, Kenny read a beautiful letter that he wrote for her which was just THE sweetest. As the two were riding on cloud nine we were able to take some photos with their friends in attendance as well as a good amount of portraits of the happy couple.

This was such a happy and magical experience, and I’m beyond proud of Kenny for keeping his cool while planning his surprise proposal to Bwayiask at Venue 1929. I had so much fun with these two, and don’t worry as their engagement session and courthouse wedding will both be on the blog soon enough! If you’d like to book me to photograph your proposal, engagement, wedding, or all 3 for that matter, head to my contact page to send me an inquiry!