Proposals | mathioulakis.com

You bring the love story, we’ll take care of the rest. We’ve helped plan and photograph countless surprise proposals, staying hidden until the perfect moment to capture every tear, laugh, and “yes!” You focus on the question; we’ll make sure it’s beautifully remembered.
There’s something extraordinary about Naxos, the island’s calm energy, the endless blue of the Aegean, and the sense that time slows down here. The Temple of Apollo, standing proudly above the harbor, has watched over countless sunsets and love stories.
Naxos offers this kind of magic, quiet, natural, effortless. Moments like this remind me why I love capturing stories that will be remembered for a lifetime.

There are so many factors that go into planning a surprise proposal, and I know that often times, you’re already so nervous about how exactly to propose that it’s hard to think about any other details, better yet how to also maintain that element of surprise – so I’m here to tell you from the photographer’s point of view what I usually tell people who reach out to me asking to capture the moment for them.

To keep things gender-neutral throughout this blogpost, I’m going to assign the title Person A as the person proposing (and the one hiring the photographer) and Person B as the person who will be proposed to

Let’s pretend you’ve already nailed down all the details of the actual proposal moment, and now it’s about how exactly the photographer comes into play. I usually ask the question:

Do you want me to already be introduced as the photographer for a couples session between you two (Choice 1)

Would you like me to be kept hidden from Person B until you’ve popped the question? (Choice 2)

Pros of Choice 1

This is considered the “easy” option due to the fact that there doesn’t need to be any secrecy in terms of the photographer being kept hidden all the way up to the big moment.
A good choice to consider if the proposal will be in a wide open area where it’s hard for the photographer to hide.
Because we’ll already be taking photos of the two of you, it’s easy to make up a pose that has Person B turn around so that Person A can go down on one knee to propose.

Cons of Choice 1

If your partner is onto you and already has some sneaking suspicions, nothing makes it more obvious that you’re going to propose than saying “I know we never get photos of the two of us, so I hired a photographer out of the blue to take pictures of us!”

Pros of Choice 2

It’s much less obvious that you’re going to propose since you can plan out your proposal in a more organic way as if there isn’t a hired photographer involved.
Since Person B has no idea there’s a photographer, if you two are private people or you plan to keep your proposal as a private moment with just the two of you, then it’s more likely that Person B will let out their true emotions with less hesitance because they don’t know they’re being captured.

Cons of Choice 2

There has to be more coordination between you and the photographer in the sense that we’ll have to plan where exactly the photographer will be vs where you two will be so that your partner’s reaction can be shot at the right angle to perfectly capture their reaction while still being kept hidden.

If you go for Choice 1

If you decide to go for Choice 1, which is having me already introduced to the two of you at the beginning as your photographer, then most of the planning comes down to the prompt you’d like me to give you to initiate that moment.

For example, after we’ve warmed up into the couples session and we’ve already taken some photos of the two of you together, I will slowly guide our shoot towards the specific spot we’ve agreed on in order to have the background you really want for that official proposal moment. Then I will give a prompt like “Alright, now I’ll have you face this way, and when I say go, Person A will run up behind you to tackle you from behind.” Person B will turn around at that point (and they’re usually pretty oblivious to what’s about to happen next because at that point during the shoot, I’ve already given you both a bunch of silly prompts chasing each other around and twirling everywhere haha). I’ll give Person A the signal that I’m ready for them to pop the question, I’ll wait for Person A to give me back the thumbs up, and then I say “Actually, never mind, we’ll do a different pose. Can you turn back around?” Then the moment happens! There’ll be different variations to the prompts, of course, so this is just an example of one of them.

If you go for Choice 2

If you decide for Choice 2, which is for me to be kept hidden until the moment you’ve proposed, then most of the planning is down to coordinating where we will both be standing when the moment happens. After you’ve nailed down the main location of where we’ll be meeting, when we’re having our consultation call, we’ll talk more in details about where exactly you would like to propose based on what background you would like and how well hidden I can be in order to get the right angle to perfectly capture your partner’s reaction. Depending on the location, we may even meet up at that location so we can know, first off, how we both look (my worst nightmare is another couple who also coincidentally plans to propose on the same day and same time and I end up photographing the wrong couple LOL, although that’s never happened before) so we don’t accidentally run into each other as you’re guiding your partner to the designated spot. Meeting up beforehand can also help us to brainstorm the plan together by walking through the location and process in person if the plan calls for it.

Organizing a Proposal in Naxos as a Photographer

Planning a surprise proposal requires coordination and trust.

As a Naxos photographer, I guide couples through every step. I help choose the right location, suggest the best time of day and ensure the moment feels natural, not staged.

Blending Candid and Editorial Photography

A Natural Flow With Gentle Direction

During both the proposal and the engagement session, the approach stayed simple. I focused on real emotion first. Then, when needed, I offered subtle guidance. This balance allowed the images to feel spontaneous while remaining timeless.