Matt and I planned this one for a month, and the hardest part was a question nobody could answer. What time do the lanterns actually go up?

Matt wanted a lantern festival proposal. Specifically, The Lights Fest at Plantation Field in Coatesville, out in Chester County, Pennsylvania, right when the lanterns went up. The festival could not give us a time. It goes when it is dark enough and the fire department signs off, and nobody knows when that is until it happens. Matt emailed them. He asked again when they got there. Same answer every time, which was no answer.

So we did what I always do. We got there early and figured it out on the ground.

The Drive In

Before I get to any of that, I have to tell you about the road in. The drive into Plantation Field is gorgeous. Fence lines, open fields, big old trees hanging over a little country road, and that low October light across all of it. I took this one straight out my car window, and I am not even a little sorry.

A Ton of People, and No Line for the Bathroom

We pulled in a little after six. The field rolls down a long hill toward a stage, and it was already packed. Blankets everywhere, families, couples, groups of friends who had been there since the afternoon.

There are two parking areas, a row of food trucks (Matt texted me from the line at the donut truck), and a ton of bathrooms. Nobody was waiting for one. If you have ever been to a festival, you know how rare that is.

A few booths were selling shirts, really cute ones, plus little knickknacks. A guy on stage played music and talked to the crowd the entire time, which kept everybody in a good mood while we all waited for dark.

Thousands of people sitting on blankets across the rolling hill at The Lights Fest at Plantation Field in Coatesville, PA, just after sunset

Plan A Was at the Top of the Hill

I walked the whole field and found a spot I loved at the top of the hill, in the corner by a little wooden fence where a path opens up toward the woods. Lots of room, and nobody stacked on top of you.

Maura did not want to move. She was comfortable, she had her spot by one of the tiki torches, and she was staying put. Honestly, fair. It was cold.

So we changed the plan. There was a middle aisle that ran straight down to the stage, the path everybody used to walk through the crowd. I met up with Matt there while Maura was sitting down, and we worked it out. When the time came, he would bring her out into that aisle so they had a little room, instead of people right in their faces.

My last text to him was simple. Wait until a good portion of the lanterns are in the sky, then walk her out.

Waiting on the Fire Department

Around 7:30, someone finally got up on stage. People were getting antsy by then, and a few had started lighting lanterns on their own. They kept warning everyone that if people kept doing that, they could cancel the whole event.

Then they taught everybody how to do it, how to fill up the lantern and when to let it go. They had to get approval from the fire department before any of it happened, which I loved. It felt very safe.

And then the first ones went up. This is what the sky looked like a couple of minutes before Matt walked her out.

Will You Marry Me?

Maura’s best friend and her boyfriend played it perfectly. They acted like they were just snapping a photograph of the two of them with their lantern. Matt was holding it up, all lit, and then he turned it around.

He had written “Will you marry me?” right on the side. Then he let it go.

Matt holding up a glowing paper lantern in front of Maura moments before his lantern festival proposal at The Lights Fest in Coatesville, PA

There are two kinds of proposal reactions. Some people cover their mouth, and some people cry. Maura did both. She had no idea. None.

Maura covering her mouth in surprise as Matt kneels and holds out the ring under rising lanterns

Matt on one knee in front of Maura with a sky full of floating lanterns above them at The Lights Fest

She was so happy. Elated, really. And so surprised.

Maura hugging Matt right after saying yes, with lanterns glowing in the field behind them

Maura smiling over Matt's shoulder as they hug among the lanterns in Coatesville, PA

Matt and Maura holding each other in the middle aisle of the festival field as lanterns rise

Then the ring.

Matt slipping the ring onto Maura's finger in the glow of the lantern festival

Maura wiping away tears as Matt puts the ring on her finger

Matt and Maura leaning in close and looking down at her new engagement ring

Maura laughing and looking at her ring with Matt in the crowd at The Lights Fest

Matt grinning as Maura celebrates beside him with lanterns floating overhead

The Family Was Right There the Whole Time

Here is the great thing about a proposal on a cold night. Everybody is bundled up in hoods and hats and big coats. The family was already there, hidden in the crowd, and Maura never noticed. They could have been standing right next to her and it would not have mattered.

Family members in winter coats rushing in to celebrate with Matt and Maura after the proposal

Maura hugging a family member in the crowd after getting engaged at the lantern festival

Then Everyone Let Go

And then they let them up. I cannot even explain what thousands of lanterns look like going into the sky on a cool fall night. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, and I got to watch it next to two people who had just gotten engaged under it.

Thousands of paper lanterns drifting into the night sky over Plantation Field during Matt and Maura's lantern festival proposal in Coatesville, PA

Matt and Maura standing together in the field under a sky filled with lanterns

Matt lifting Maura off the ground in a hug as lanterns fill the sky behind them

Everyone together, pointing up.

Matt and Maura with friends and family pointing up at the lanterns at The Lights Fest

Then a few minutes with just the two of them.

Matt and Maura walking hand in hand through the festival field at night

Black and white photograph of Matt and Maura walking together under floating lanterns

Matt and Maura facing each other under a sky scattered with lanterns in Coatesville, PA

Close portrait of Matt and Maura nose to nose, backlit by lantern light

And before we left, they sent up two lanterns of their own, lit right off a tiki torch.

Matt and Maura lighting a lantern from a tiki torch

Matt and Maura holding their glowing lanterns overhead as they fill with warm air

Matt and Maura letting their lanterns go into the night sky at The Lights Fest

Two days after the proposal, Matt left this review. I’m sharing it here because it’s the part I care about most.

“From the early planning stages through the surprise proposal, Jordan was incredibly accommodating, professional, and helpful throughout the entire process. The photos he captured are memories we will cherish for a lifetime, and we couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out.”
Matt, via Google review

Tips for Planning Your Own Lantern Festival Proposal

These are not photography tips. These are for you, whoever you are, so the person you are asking has the best night possible, whether I am there or not.

Bring blankets, and bring cute ones. One really nice blanket to sit on, then a couple of throws to wrap up in. A cold field gets a lot more romantic when nobody is shivering.

Bring a thermos of hot chocolate. Trust me on this one. They will love it. Love it.

Stash some hand warmers in your pockets too, in case it gets colder than you planned. Now they are toasty and happy right up until the moment they realize, oh my God, I am getting proposed to.

Wondering what to write on your lantern? Matt kept it to four words, and that was plenty.

And plan on waiting. The festival will not give you an exact time for the release, so get there early, grab some food, and settle in.

I photograph surprise proposals all over the area, and you can see how I plan them on my Philadelphia proposal photographer page. Looking for more cold weather ideas? Here are the best places to propose in New Jersey and Philadelphia when it gets cold. And if Chester County is your area, my guide to planning a surprise proposal at Longwood Gardens is not far from Plantation Field.

Ready to Start Planning?

Tell me where you want to ask, when, and who you are asking. I will help you figure out the rest, even when nobody can tell us what time things start. Fill out my proposal inquiry form here and let’s make it happen.

A Lantern Festival Proposal in Coatesville, PA: Matt & Maura