Heart Rock Proposal in Joshua Tree (with Astrophotography)

Heart Rock is now a popular destination in Joshua Tree National Park, and we have been going there before there were trail markers (and before there was a trodden path). As it stands now, we can hike there on a dark, new moon night knowing many of the rocks along the way. He surprised her with a proposal at Heart Rock (proposal in Joshua Tree National Park) by hiking all the way to heart rock, where I was waiting (hiding behind a large rock LOL).

Proposal at Heart Rock

They stopped for a selfie at Heart Rock, with her not knowing that a proposal was coming soon!

So he started with a heart-felt speech, that when I asked them later they can barely remember the words!

And then he got down on one knee, and she said YES!!

At this point I came out from hiding to get the ring and her glow as the reality of the moment soaked in.

Engagement Photography at Heart Rock in Joshua Tree

After they had a moment to settle, we eased into an engagement photography session at the nearby rocks. The cute thing is she still had this glow about her, this warm energy and high that came from the proposal.

And what’s Joshua Tree without some Joshua trees in the engagement photos?

After Heart Rock, we started making our way across the park to get to more and larger Joshua trees. The east side of the national park is better for rock formations, while the west side of the park has a ton more Joshua trees.

Astrophotography After an Engagement Proposal

After taking a break to let the sun (and it’s light pollution to a dark night sky) go down, we did an astrophotography engagement session. Now, this proposal was during the winter, where the full Milky Way core wasn’t visible at this time of night during this time of year. We still had a bunch of stars to use in the background, along with the tail end of the Milky Way Core.

I had mentioned how airplanes in the background have blinking lights that leave a distinct trail. They pointed to it and I didn’t clone out the light trail from the plane for this image.

Engagement Photography after a Proposal at Heart Rock

This is a great example of how we cover a surprise engagement proposal candidly and naturally. The proposal was at Heart Rock in Joshua Tree National Park, which is known for it’s unique rock formations and distinct Joshua Trees. After the proposal, we went into an engagement photography portrait session that extended into the dark night sky with astrophotography.