Imagine traveling across the world to surprise one of your best friends and take pictures of the moment she gets ENGAGED! And then after that, hanging out on some of the prettiest beaches in the world and taking their photos for a week straight. That’s pretty much what happened here!

I traveled 15 hours from California to Australia over night to surprise Audrey, one of my close friends from college, and take her photos as the love of her life, Dan, got down on one knee with the city skyline of the Gold Coast in the background.

It was a magical moment as he proposed, and I couldn’t stop crying! She didn’t even realize I was there until Dan told her to “look to her left and smile”. At that point I gave her the BIGGEST hug with just like hysterics of crying because I was just so stinking happy for them!!!

But the surprise wasn’t over there.

After our fun on the beach and taking some photos, we headed to a nice Italian restaurant for some dinner. Dan and I knew there was still a big secret, so I ran into the restaurant before them to prepare. As Audrey and Dan took a seat, I pretended to take their photos in preparation of Audrey’s reaction as she saw her parents come around the corner. Her reaction was priceless. (You’ve gotta scroll down to see it!!!) It was such a moving moment!

That night, we enjoyed a nice dinner, just a couple of Californians surprising someone we love a lot in a really cool place halfway across the world in Australia.

I photographed Audrey and Dan pretty much for the rest of my time there – but a lot of it was just for fun! I brought my underwater carrier for my camera, and we experimented taking underwater shots in the clearest water (scroll to the bottom to see some magic!!).

After spending close to 10 days out there following them around and adventuring through jungles, beautiful white sand beaches, and good foodie places, we had discussed potentially splitting a condo out there one day. I meannn… I’m all for it!

If you’ve never been out to the Gold Coast in Queensland, you’ve GOT to make it out there. February was a great time to go since it was summer there, and winter back at home. I got to escape some chilly weather (Because let’s be real, SoCal doesn’t really get winter lol) in exchange for some beautiful sunny and warm weather. I was the tannest person in the US when I got home!

ANYWAYS, enjoy our adventures in the gallery below! I’m really proud of how I captured their time here. 🙂

-Dani