American man surprises girlfriend with Edinburgh marriage proposal in romantically picturesque Dean Village
Precious memory for American couple made in Edinburgh
An American couple who spent their summer travelling around Europe are returning home as fiancés after a surprise proposal in the Capital.
Andrew Shivak and Emily Chess from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have been enjoying the trip of a lifetime in Europe this summer.
But it was their stop in Edinburgh that saw them commit to spending the rest of their lives together.
Andrew, 27, had been planning his surprise proposal for six months before he finally got down on one knee and popped the question in the romantic surroundings of Dean Village on Thursday.
He said he had chosen the “magical” Dean Village to be the special spot after Emily, 26, has identified it as somewhere she really wanted to visit on their travels.
Once the location was secured, he reached out to Edinburgh photographer Steph Virot to capture the couple’s magic moment, after she previously photographed an English couple’s marriage proposal in front of the Ross Fountain in Princes Street Gardens in April last year.
On the day, Steph even shared the plans with some tourists, who moved to the top of the bridge and captured the special moment on video.
Andrew said he was delighted with his romantic marriage proposal, and is excited about spending the rest of his life with Emily after she said yes.
And while the pressure of the proposal planning is now over, the couple are already starting to think about their wedding day, with Andrew having said they were hoping to get married in September 2027.
Steph, who runs Bonnie Wee Jeanie McCall Photography in the Capital, said that all the secret planning was worth it, with the proposal having gone off without a hitch.
Steph said: “Andrew reached out to me around six months ago and we conjured up a plan, with Dean Village winning the vote for proposal location.
“The plan went unbelievably well, I even roped in some tourists after explaining what was about to happen, they cleared the area, went up on top of the bridge and recorded the whole thing, just as Andrew and Emily arrived.
“The whole thing was absolutely beautiful to capture, especially with the vibrant colours of Dean Village as a backdrop. We are so lucky to have so many beautiful places in Scotland that people from all over the world want to visit and experience.”