Our story starts with a pelican, but I need to fill in some details. Christopher wanted to surprise Kelsey with a proposal while they were staying in Orange Beach. The game plan was for a nice romantic walk on the beach. However, he had a slight motorcycle accident a few days prior and his cast prevented him from walking on the beach comfortably. I suggested Plan B which was to shoot at the SanRoc Cay Marina and use Cotton Bayou as a backdrop. His story was they were going to walk the pier before eating at one of the restaurants and I was going to be pretending to take pictures of birds.
I scouted out the place ahead of time and then sent Christopher text pictures of the area to propose where I could get a clean shot and stay relatively hidden. When they pulled up, I headed to the designated area. Lucky me, a pelican decided to roost by the pier. I had a good reason to be in the open, and it also got the attention of the couple as well. After watching the pelican for a few moments, Christopher led Kelsey to the designated area and popped the question. She was surprised and afterwords we had a great portrait session.