PICTURES: American couple asks photographer who captured dream proposal at Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness to attend wedding overseas
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A COUPLE whose pictures went viral after a dream proposal on the shores of Loch Ness said they'd love the local photographer who disguised as a tourist to capture the moment to photograph their wedding.
The beautiful pictures of Stephen Price (36) and Lisa Urquhart, from Georgia, US, became very popular online after the photographer Michael Carver (45) shared them on his social media channel, adding that he was undercover on a Loch Ness cruise for the first part of the journey.
The couple travelled to Scotland on a journey which Mr Price had planned months ago to propose to Ms Urquhart.
"I really wanted this to be meaningful," he shared.
"Lisa hasn't been abroad since she was a very young child and she'd always wanted to visit this castle as her family history tracks back there.
"Five or six months ago I knew I wanted to ask Lisa to marry me, so I started planning this trip.
"Her son Sunny had spring break this time and I really wanted him to be there too.
"Before we left for Scotland, a friend of mine told me that we would get into a fight before the day I planned the proposal, and in fact she noticed that I was acting in a very strange way."
"He usually is very laid back, but he all of a sudden he was very stressed about being on time, and then I realised why he was acting that way," Ms Urquhart said.
“It was perfect, and having my son there too made it even more special.
"It just felt right being there, as if I was coming back to a place I had never been to.
“My mum’s side are all Urquharts, and I remember growing up my grandad having objects related to the clan, framed pictures of the castle up at my grandma’s house, our tartan and our kilt... it’s always been a big feature in my life growing up really. I had never been before so I’d always wanted to go.
“I didn’t notice the photographer at all, I thought it was a bit weird, but it was my son who came to me and said ‘mum, that guy is following us!’ I just thought it was probably someone working on pictures as part of the trip.
“Michael really went above and beyond for us on the day, he was such a great guy. He really bonded with all of us. We are hoping he will be able to come to the States and be the photographer at our wedding in the US!”
Mr Carver, who has been a wedding photographer since 2000, said: "Stephen had emailed me to say that he was going to propose on that day and asked if I could come along with them, he would buy me a ticket on the boat and I'd be there undercover as a tourist, taking some shots as I go.
"Then we pre-arranged the spot where they would walk to when they got to Urquhart Castle where he was going to propose in public.
"Then, hopefully after she said yes, I would introduce myself and take a few more pictures on the way back home."
He said the trip was particularly special for the couple: "Lisa had never left the States before and her surname is Urquhart, so she really dreamed of coming to Urquhart Castle because of her ancestry traces back ties to the Highlands and this area.
"They said they were really happy to be there for the first time as a family.
"When we got to Urquhart Castle there was a particular spot that Stephen and I had agreed to get the castle in the backdrop and when we arrived there were some tourists there standing around, and I had to ask them 'guys, he is about to propose so do you mind coming back a bit?', and they were all excited so they went at the top to watch over the wall and so when he got down on one knee and she said yes they all cheered from there!
"It's one of those things where you only get one shot. But that's really one of the things I enjoy about photography."
The couple then went to visit Edinburgh in the last days of their trip. The wedding, they said, will hopefully be celebrated next spring.
