I was so excited when Caleb reached out to me to capture his proposal to Erika! Erika and I have known each other since middle school, but we didn't become friends until college. I saw on her Instagram that she was doing some modeling around the time I had started my photography business, so I reached out to her to see if she would be open to modeling for me when we both went home for the break. She helped me create many of my favorite early portfolio pieces back in 2017, and these proposal photos I got to take in January are now some of my favorite portfolio pieces of 2023 so far.
Erika headed to her work shift on Saturday afternoon, and Caleb headed to June's All Day, where he had been coordinating with the restaurant manager to plan the proposal moment. Erika's manager was going to send her on a work errand to the restaurant so she wouldn't realize why she was actually there.
The restaurant prepared a little corner of the cafe with fresh flowers and a bottle of celebratory champagne, and Caleb and I chatted with some girls sitting at the bar as we waited for Erika to arrive. He showed me the ring box he had designed (he's a graphic designer), and I loved the personal touch of creating a logo out of their two first initials.
When Erika walked through the door, the sommelier stalled her at the door while Caleb mentally prepared himself to tap her on the shoulder. I was sitting at the bar, watching them through the reflection of a mirror so I would know when to turn around and start shooting. I had never felt so nervous before during a proposal, but I was so worried she would spot me and recognize me.
Thankfully, she tuned everything out the moment she saw Caleb and realized why he was there. They sat down at the booth for to talk, and I loved getting to capture the emotions they felt in that moment.
The girls Caleb and I had chatted with earlier began to tear up as they witnessed his proposal. Of course, she said yes, and they sat down again to enjoy the champagne and admire the beautiful moonstone they had picked out for her engagement ring.
