I keep going back to Palácio de Monserrate, and I still find corners of it I have not photographed.
That is rarer than it sounds. Most locations run out. You work them three or four times and you have seen everything they do. Monserrate does not behave that way. There is the palace, a lake, a waterfall, a chapel that has been a ruin long enough for the ferns to take the walls, lawns that open onto the hills, and a garden planted with species brought here from all over the world.
Why propose at Palácio de Monserrate rather than anywhere else in Sintra?
Because it is the one palace in Sintra where you can ask the question without a big audience. Palácio de Monserrate sits in Sintra, about forty minutes west of Lisbon, and of all the palaces in those hills it is the quietest by a wide margin.
Pena and Quinta da Regaleira are the most visited places in Sintra, and both are worth a day of anyone's lifes. However, at eleven in the morning in July you would be asking it in front of a few hundred people.
Monserrate is different for several reasons. The estate is large, the paths spread people out, and most visitors walk to the palace and stay near it. Turn off, walk five minutes, and you have the garden to yourself.
Then there is the variety, which is the real reason I keep going back. Mughal arches and stone carved into something close to lace, tree ferns and palms, a path lined in yellow and orange flower beds under a single umbrella pine. Philodendron leaves so large they work as background architecture.
Where exactly can you propose inside the estate?
Monserrate is a really big estate, so I send you a shortlist of two or three of the best spots before the day, each in a different part of the garden, each with a different amount of cover for me to work from. You just choose the one it better suits your vision. The rest of the estate is where I take you afterwards.
1. The arcaded terrace at the front of the palace.
This is the one most couples choose, and I understand why. Carved arches, a low balustrade with urns of red begonias along it, and the wooded valley falling away behind. It is one of the few places in Sintra where the architecture and the landscape sit in the same frame without you having to choose between them. It is also where Cindy and Ryan's proposal happened, on a quiet overcast morning.
2. The ruined chapel.
Also one of my favourite corners of Monserrate. Mossy stone, a pointed arch with nothing behind it but garden, and ferns and bromeliads growing straight out of the ruin. It is smaller and more enclosed than the terrace, so it suits a couple who would rather not be visible from a path while it happens.
3. The stone staircase and the path down towards the lake.
The palms and the tree ferns close over the path here, so the light arrives filtered and soft, and there is a carved balustrade to lean on that photographs beautifully at any hour.
4. The garden paths themselves.
Agapanthus beds, japanese anemones in flower, leaves the size of a serving tray, if you prefer a more nature-based scenario.
Which ones I suggest on your shortlist depends for example on the month, time of the proposal, and weather.
How does the surprise actually stay a surprise?
You agree a signal with me beforehand, and I am already inside the gardens and in position before the two of you walk through the gate. Your partner sees nothing change, because there is nothing to see. I am one more person with a camera in a garden passing by.
The signal can be very small. Stopping at one particular spot. Adjusting a sleeve. It confirms rather than starts anything, because I am already looking through the camera by the time you arrive.
I also dress normally, which in Sintra makes me look like a tourist.
What happens in the after she says yes?
I keep photographing, I give you a moment alone, and then I walk over and introduce myself. That introduction is my favourite part of a proposal morning and the part nobody plans for. There is a particular expression people make when they understand that the last two minutes exist as photographs.
After that we walk and I take you to the most beautiful spots to register those moments after the proposal.
What do you need to organise before the day?
Almost nothing. Monserrate is a ticketed estate, and I buy the tickets in advance so that nobody stands in a queue with a ring in a pocket.
There is a car park at the entrance, so arriving by car is simple. Taking an Uber or Taxi is also a good ideia, if you are staying in Sintra.
On clothes, my only real advice is to wear what you would actually wear on a good day of travelling, one notch better. Soft neutrals, cream, earth tones. They sit well against the greens and the stone in Sintra, and they still look right in ten years. Large logos and very bright colours date faster than anything else in a photograph.
How early should you arrive, and how long does the session take?
The proposal and walk afterwards is usually an hour, and Monserrate is a great deal bigger than it looks from the entrance.
The ideal moment for the proposal is in the morning, at 10 a.m., and I say so to every couple who asks me, because at that time there are still little tourists in the palace, and the light is great.
Who should not propose at Monserrate?
Anyone who wants a big audience applauding that moment. The balcony is usually pretty empty, specially at 10 a.m., and gardens are too quiet and too spread out for that, and the nearest other visitor is usually a long way down a path.
If you want the sea in the frame, or the sun going down into the Atlantic behind you, that is also not here. I would send you to the coast instead, the way I did for this sunset proposal at Praia do Guincho, twenty minutes from Cascais.
What does working with me actually look like?
It starts with a few messages, usually weeks before you land, and it ends with you walking out of a garden engaged. In between, the arranging is mine. I have been photographing weddings since 2014, I am based in Cascais, and Monserrate is really close from my front door.
Here is the whole sequence:
You write to me with a date.
I send three spots inside the estate and you pick one.
You and I agree a time and a signal.
I buy the tickets.
On the day I am inside the palace or the gardens early and in position before you arrive.
You just need to give your name at the gate and go to the agreed location.
I photograph the proposal, I introduce myself, and then we walk the gardens for an hour.
My approach is documentary, which for a proposal simply means I photograph what happens rather than a version of it arranged for the camera. If you want to see what that produces across an hour, the Monserrate photoshoot post and the guide to the most romantic places to propose in Sintra both cover more of the ground around it, and there is more about how I work on my proposal page and portfolio.
A good number of the couples I photograph proposing come back to me for the wedding, and I love to follow their love stories.
Let's make your dream proposal happen!
Frequently asked questions about proposing at Palácio de Monserrate
What time does Palácio de Monserrate open?
The park opens at 9 a.m. in the morning and closes at 7 p.m. , with the last tickets sold and the last entry at 6 p.m.. The palace itself opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m., with last entry around 5 p.m..
Do you need a ticket to propose at Palácio de Monserrate?
Yes. Monserrate is a ticketed estate, and entry is the one detail not to leave until the morning itself. Also, a specific permit to photograph is needed, for €150,00. I buy the tickets and permit in advance for the couples I work with, so that there is no queue and no moment where the surprise depends on a card reader working. You walk in like any other visitor, which is exactly what keeps it quiet.
How busy does Monserrate get?
Much less busy than the other Sintra palaces. You will see other visitors near the palace itself, especially in the middle of the day in summer, but the gardens are large and the paths spread everyone out. In the minute when the question is asked, you are almost always alone, which is the whole reason I recommend it.
Is there parking at Palácio de Monserrate?
Yes, there is a car park at the entrance to the estate. It is the simplest of the Sintra palaces to reach by car, which matters more than it sounds: the roads around Pena and the historic centre are narrow and slow, and a proposal morning is not the morning to be circling for a space.
How far ahead should we book a proposal photographer in Sintra?
Between May and October, two months of notice is sensible, because those are the months when everybody else is planning something too. Outside that season a few weeks is often enough. If your travel dates are already fixed, the honest answer is to write as soon as the flights are booked.
Can we do an engagement session straight after the proposal?
Yes, and most couples do. An hour is usually right. You are already dressed, already inside the gardens, and in a state that no session booked three months later can reproduce. It is also the only part of the morning where I direct you, so it produces a completely different set of photographs from the proposal itself.
We do not live in Portugal. Does that make this harder?
No. Nearly all of this is arranged by message, in English, before anyone lands. I work in Portugal, England and the United States, and the couples I photograph proposing usually meet me in person for the first time about a minute after the question has been asked. That is the normal way this works, not a compromise.
See more about the Proposal Sessions → Proposal photography in Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais
