From mom-to-be to bride-to-be! In one quick moment, Lorenza Pardo’s maternity photo shoot turned into a sweet surprise proposal! While she was saying yes to her boyfriend Louis Bruno’s marriage proposal, the entire engagement was captured by Kevin Cucci of art C images photography. Take a peek at their stunning maternity and engagement photos and hear all about the surprise proposal below!
“I had been planning to propose for quite a while and when our friends set up the maternity shoot I knew that would be the perfect way to do it,” Bruno told The Knot. “The proposal was set almost as soon as I found out when the shoot was,” he said, adding that he had planned on proposing the day before Mother’s Day, during his birthday weekend. The couple cuddled up for snapshots on May 7th during their maternity photo shoot in Delray Beach, FL, and Bruno’s girlfriend Pardo had no idea what was about to happen!
Using the photo shoot to capture Pardo’s pregnancy and his surprise proposal moment, Bruno told The Knot, “It provided me with the perfect opportunity to make sure she had her makeup and nails done as well as that our friends were present.” He knew it was important to his bride-to-be that she be surprised when he proposed and he said, “I couldn’t think of a better way to make it happen.”
Credit: artCimages Photography
While the photographers snapped photos of the couple back-to-back on the beach, Bruno revealed the engagement ring to the camera. As Bruno turned towards Pardo she eyed the ring and couldn’t contain her emotions!
“Louis and I have known that we wanted to get married for years, but with the baby on the way, I’ve had so much else on my mind,” Pardo shared with The Knot. “When I turned and saw the ring in his hand, my heart stopped. I was so excited. I started crying immediately and barely could listen to a word he was saying, but I couldn’t wait to tell him yes.”
The two USF St. Petersburg alumni graduated just two years ago, and had met on campus through mutual friends. Little did they know that their first date, a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game, would spark a beautiful, viral maternity and surprise proposal moment seen by thousands!
Credit: artCimages Photography
Bruno dropped to one knee and proposed to Pardo with an heirloom engagement ring that once belonged to his grandfather’s grandmother, he shared with The Knot. “It was offered to me by my grandparents after they heard I was in the market for a ring,” he said of the over 100-year-old engagement ring. “They told me that they could not have thought of a better place for the ring to go.”
The bride and mother-to-be added, “The ring is more beautiful than anything I could describe. It’s classic and traditional, and simply stunning! I can’t stop staring!”
Credit: artCimages Photography
Pardo also has strong connections with her grandparents that were captured during the maternity and proposal photo shoot, she shared. “My grandfather, who raised me, just passed away in February. It was extremely difficult for me, especially trying to keep the emotions to a minimum to keep my baby safe,” she told The Knot. “One week later, we found out we were having a boy! We will name him Louis Juan (Juan was my grandfather’s name) but call him LJ!” The couple’s due date is August 24th.
Credit: artCimages Photography
“I couldn’t believe Louis, the photographer, and my best friends had planned this perfect moment for me,” she said.”He truly thought of everything to make the moment so special for me. He even had my other best friend surprise me at dinner after the proposal! She drove over 4 hours to be there for me, and he knew it would mean the world to me.”
Credit: artCimages Photography
The couple continued their beachside maternity photo shoot as newly-engaged expecting parents, complete with wardrobe changes that included t-shirts saying “he asked,” and “she said yes.”
“Besides the proposal, my favorite part about that day was the weather,” Bruno told The Knot. “I remember specifically thinking that there could not have been a more perfect day for the shoot and for me to ask my better half if she would spend the rest of her life with me.”
“I’d have to say that my favorite memory was just getting ready to go to sleep that night, and Louis and I just repeating to ourselves ‘We’re getting married!’” Pardo said. “The whole day was perfect.”
Credit: artCimages Photography
While the couple haven’t yet set an official date for their wedding, Pardo shared. “We both have always wanted to get married in the Fall, with an outdoor wedding.” She told The Knot that Fall 2017 seems like the ideal wedding date, adding, “I love the colors of the trees changing and the perfect weather. It gives us time to focus on the baby right now, and then start planning for the wedding!”
As for groom and father-to-be? Bruno told The Knot, “The best part was that I knew this would make it possible to capture these priceless moments forever.”
