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Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
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kentucky engagement photographer kentucky engagement photography kentucky photographer kentucky photography KL Phy Photography louisville engagement photographer Louisville engagement photography Louisville photographer Louisville photography
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Surprise engagement proposal on the Louisville’s riverfront
I posted earlier this year about my brother's proposal to his long-time girlfriend. She's an avid runner, and he cooked up a brilliant plan to present her an engagement ring and pop the question as she crossed the finish line of the 2010 Kentucky Derby Festival Mini-Marathon. It was a great success, even got some media coverage, and made for a wonderful story that they will enjoy telling for a lifetime. I am so glad that I was able to be there to capture the whole thing for posterity! I got a lot of positive comments about the photographs, but most importantly, they have a photo-narrative to go along with the memories.
I was so in hopes that the idea would catch on and another brave and romantic soul would contact me to capture another wonderful surprise engagement session, and to my great pleasure, I got a call from Tyler a few months later. He planned to surprise his beautiful girlfriend, Ashley, with a proposal on the Louisville's riverfront after a romantic dinner downtown. He had the whole thing planned out perfectly, even to the point of sending me a satellite image of the waterfront park with possible proposal spots circled for my consideration. We talked a bit about the lighting and time of day, and came up with a plan that he felt confident with. I showed up at the riverfront early, to check the light and to scope out a good "route" for them to walk, so as to provide the best background scenery while still enabling me room to discreetly follow them, and not have to shoot against the strong light of the setting sun. After I had the plan nailed down, and a few quick texts with Tyler to fill him in, I sat down to wait with my camera and took a few shots of the boats and people out enjoying a lovely summer evening on the river.
The plan was they would walk past me, towards the river, make a right, and follow the path along the water's edge. Tyler planned on finding a suitable bench, sit and talk awhile, and then get on one knee and present the engagement ring. I was so excited when I got the last text that they had left the restaurant and were on their way, and I practically strained my neck from looking behind me to see if they were finally approaching. When they at last appeared, I had no question that I had the right couple; even without Tyler's description, I would have known that these two were having a special night. They looked fabulous, all dressed up for a romantic night on the town, and Ashley was absolutely model-gorgeous. Neither of them even spared me a glance as they walked by, and I hoped that Tyler noticed who I was. I surely couldn't have been hard to miss, though, toting along my cameras with one of them sporting the huge 70-200 lens I was using to ensure I would escape Ashley's notice and give them their privacy. As it turned out, though, Ashley did notice me as they approached and asked Tyler if he thought that if I was a professional, he might ask if I would take their photograph since they were all fancied up for the night. He was able to maintain composure, and replied that it was a good idea if they happened to run into me later.
Once I gave them some time and distance, I got up and started following, hoping that I wasn't being too obvious, but also worried about letting them get too far ahead and missing the moment. I know Tyler was aware of my presence, but I believe Ashley remained totally wrapped up in Tyler and the beautiful evening, and thankfully forgot all about me once they had gone by. They walked, and I walked, and walked, and walked; I started wondering how far he would go after a little while. And then when he did find the right bench, it seemed that he sat and chatted with her forever before I caught the signs that he was making his move. I think I was just anxious and eager not to miss anything, though, and he was likely a little nervous and using some time to build up courage and make sure all the conditions were right.
I followed behind, taking a few quick snaps of them ahead of me, but mostly stopping along the way and shooting in the opposite direction, fiddling with my camera or lens, and otherwise trying to appear as uninterested in them as possible. When they sat, I had to choose a bench that was a little closer than I would have hoped. It was actually the perfect distance to shoot, but I was worried about Ashley finally spotting me and getting suspicious. Luckily there was an open, covered trash bin close to the bench, so I could kind of duck and keep out of Ashley's sight but still see Tyler perfectly. Finally, the moment occurred, and I was in perfect position to capture the whole thing. Amazingly, Ashley still didn't notice me for several minutes afterwards, even though at that point I had abandoned all discretion (as per Tyler's instructions), and was openly standing in the middle of the sidewalk and shooting away. She was too busy with all the smiles and hugs and kisses, I suppose :)
What a wonderful and loving thing to be able to witness, and what a privilege to have the honor of documenting such a joyful moment in their lives! Once we made our introductions, the plan was to stay with them and shoot about another half hour or so, for an "official" engagement session, captured when the engagement was still brand-new. Ashley was all for the plan, and so we wandered back up the riverfront path a bit and caught some amazing photographs of the happiest couple ever, with the gorgeous light of the sun setting over the bridges, the Ohio River, and the backdrop of Louisville's downtown skyline. I have no doubt that the rest of their story will play out as beautifully as that evening did. Happy happy, joy joy! :)
