Ivan and Montserrat already had their trip to Iceland planned when Ivan contacted me from Mexico. There was just one part of the itinerary Montserrat didn't know about.
Ivan was going to propose.
Only two people in their travelling party knew: Ivan and his sister. That meant our job wasn't simply finding somewhere beautiful for him to get down on one knee. We needed to get Ivan, Montserrat, a photographer and the Katla glacier team into the same place at the right time without giving Montserrat a reason to suspect any of it.
For a proposal like this, protecting the surprise starts long before anyone sees the ring.
Planning the Proposal Without Montserrat Knowing
Ivan knew he wanted the proposal to happen during their Iceland trip and that he wanted the moment to feel private.
From there, we could work backwards. I coordinated with Ivan and KatlaTrack around the ice cave experience, timing and how the proposal itself would happen.
The important part was that Montserrat shouldn't feel as though she was being taken somewhere specifically to be photographed.
As far as she knew, they were going to experience Katla. Which was true.
There just happened to be a fairly significant addition to the plan.
The Journey Into Katla Helped Protect the Surprise
This is one of the reasons an experience like Katla can work so naturally for a proposal.
There is already a completely believable reason for everything happening around you. The Super Jeep. The glacier equipment. The guide. The journey away from Vík. The stops along the way.
Your partner doesn't need to wonder why you're suddenly being led towards an oddly specific photography location. They're simply having the Iceland adventure they thought they were having.
Meanwhile, Ivan knew there was another plan running quietly underneath it.
One Signal, Then It Was His Moment
Before the proposal, Ivan knew what we were aiming for and how he would know when the moment had arrived.
When we reached the ice cave tunnel, I gave him the signal.
Then there wasn't anything else for him to manage. He took Montserrat's hand. Got down on one knee. And finally let her in on the secret he'd been carrying all the way from Mexico.
Her reaction moved quickly from complete surprise to tears and happiness.
The plan had done its job. Now it could disappear.
After She Said Yes
Once Montserrat knew why everyone had really been there, there was no reason to rush them immediately into a photoshoot.
They had just become engaged. That deserved a minute.
Afterwards, we spent time exploring around the ice together and photographing what the experience felt like now that there was no secret left to protect.
The nerves were gone. Ivan didn't have to keep checking whether everything was still going according to plan. Montserrat no longer had to wonder why her boyfriend and his sister might have been behaving slightly suspiciously.
They could simply enjoy Katla as an engaged couple.
The Part of Surprise Proposals Nobody Sees
The photographs show Ivan getting down on one knee.
They don't show the conversations that happened beforehand. They don't show the timing decisions, communication with the glacier team or the small details we worked through so Montserrat wouldn't realise what Ivan was planning.
That's usually how I want proposal planning to work.
You should know enough to feel confident about what happens next. Your partner should know almost nothing.
And once they say yes, all of that planning should become invisible.
For Ivan, that meant being able to travel from Mexico with a proposal hidden inside an Iceland adventure, knowing there were people here helping him keep the secret.
Planning Your Own Ice Cave Proposal in Iceland
If you're considering proposing at Katla, my Iceland Ice Cave Proposal Experience explains the practical side of how I plan these experiences, including private glacier access, Super Jeep transport, proposal positioning, timing, photography and what we do when Iceland changes the plan.
You don't need to secretly coordinate all of those pieces yourself.
You can concentrate on keeping one thing safe until the right moment.
The ring.
