This Man Proposed Mid-Pregnancy Photo Shoot

How do you catch the perfect proposal on camera and still make it a surprise? One Florida man proposed during a pregnancy photo shoot, and solved the conundrum once and for all. Who needs a friend hiding in the bushes with their iPhone set on Burst mode when you can have a professional photographer capture the magic moment?

Louis Bruno and Lorenza Pardo met five years ago through mutual friends while attending USF St. Petersburg and have been dating ever since. While the Florida-based couple had plans to marry eventually, they were too busy both pursuing their Master's in Education and teaching to think about a wedding. "We knew we'd been together so long, we weren't going to rush it," Pardo told BuzzFeed. While the pregnancy came as a surprise to the couple (who had been using birth control), they weren't going to let it complicate things. "This wasn’t going to change anything, it’s just that things might happen a little out of typical order," said Pardo.

When best friends of of the couple learned of the pregnancy, they offered to set up a maternity photo shoot with Kevin Cucci of art C images photography. The beach-y photo op was set for the day before Mother's Day, and Bruno became inspired. "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 in an interview. "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."

To create the perfect moment, photographer Cucci instructed the couple to stand back-to-back, Pardo told BuzzFeed. "He said that’s a shot he does with a lot of couples. He told me to put my hands on my belly, and then I turned around. I was looking at Louis’ face, so I didn’t see the ring at first."

The set-up worked perfectly and the mom-to-be was completely surprised and overwhelmed. "When I saw it, I just broke down, I’m an emotional person as is, and especially so with pregnancy hormones," Pardo, who is currently 26 weeks pregnant, told BuzzFeed. "I really don’t even know what he said. I was just crying and shaking."

She said "yes" and the couple is looking forward to setting a date. "We both have always wanted to get married in the Fall, with an outdoor wedding," she told The Knot. "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!"

The baby is due August 24, and will be named Louis Juan in honor of Pardo's grandfather. The couple is aiming for Fall of 2017 for their wedding. Pardo explained to BuzzFeed how they felt about having so much to look forward to: "It’s a lot of excitement at once. It’s just nice, you know? It’s perfect."

And if they need any help with babysitting during the wedding, Pardo and Bruno's fourth grade students have offered their support. Pardo told BuzzFeed, "They want to come to the wedding and watch the baby."

Can this wedding possibly get any more cute?

Images: artCimagesPhotography