Sunday, November 16, 2008

Surprise Engagement!

"Someday somebody's gonna ask you, a question you should say yes to...once in your life. Baby tonight, I've got a question for you"
- Old 97's


I woke up to grey dreary weather and a few natural deluges that rendered my morning shower useless. Mumbling a few quick "God, pleeeeease give us good weather" prayers under my breath, I set out for an expectant day of rainy mess. This was one "fashion shoot" that couldn't be cancelled due to inclement weather because it was no ordinary shoot... today was the day John would ask Elyse to be his forever. BUT not until 4:30pm [the scheduled time we decided we would set it all up] ;)

We met up in the a.m. and piled 4 people, 1 dog, and half of Elyse's closet into the SUV. A quick "we-are-starving" pit stop at Starbucks and we hit the road to Cape Cod. With Boston's downpours behind us, the cape welcomed us with bright "soft-box clouds" and 68 degree weather. SERIOUSLY?!...weather.com predicted a 100% chance of rain, but I wasn't complaining ;)

Arriving at the borrowed cape house, we set up camp in the kitchen and began the make-up application and wardrobe selections. Meanwhile John's nerves are writhing his stomach in knots and everyone but Elyse could see it.
[T minus 4.5 hours till showtime].

We begin the shoot and all the while you hear his redundant inquiries of the time. For John the hours inched...for Shyla they flew. ;)

After a few hours of shooting it was obvious that we had to get the show on the road or this poor boy may just die of anxiety.
A few drizzles here and there but the rain held off until an hour before showtime...that was when the skies elicited a 10 minute downpour before ushering in a BEAUTIFUL full half rainbow over the ocean. So we non-chalantly made our way down to the beach, utilizing the now blue sky, and shot a few portraits until it was go-time baby. Hiding the ring in his guitar case, John retrieved the goods from the car and went to join Elyse at the "next spot I would pose them" (aka the jetty). What transpired next is documented in the slideshow below....

walking down to meet Elyse...posing a bit... offering up a sweet prayer...and then the decent to bended knee.
She'd had no idea....

***CLICK HERE***




As soon as the proposal was finished, the skies darkened and the rains came once again. Could it have been more perfect?

(all the 'fashion' pics to come later... I need to enjoy the party now!)

22 comments:

Abigail Q said...

OMG! I love you for so many reasons, but the fact that you posted these asap makes my heart dance! I rushed home from work and its 3am my time but i couldn't go to bed before checking to see if maybe-just-maybe you'd posted already! I adore these pictures! Beautiful and amazing just like my buddy! ;)

HK said...

fantastique...

emilie said...

Oh, Shyla. What a special moment you were able to witness and capture with such tenderness. I love it! And even better that the weather cooperated!

Annemarie said...

Yippee! I, like Abi, am SO glad you posted these already. You are amazing. What an absolute sweet moment, you can see her shock and overjoy in the series. (btw, missing you terribly right now). xoxo

cristy cross said...

oh my goodness that was the sweetest slideshow. I teared up watching her reaction as he got down on one knee. These are priceless and so so so wonderful. I love thise memory you captured for them.

Anonymous said...

PERFECT song choice. :-D

and what a wonderful thing to be able to document for them! awwwwesome.

BethLaurren said...

I cried.

It makes me so happy!!!!!!!

Evan said...

Shyla, I can't stop thinking about how great these pictures are! especially this one is EPIC!

Christina LeMarr & Susan Hanson said...

O so SWEEET!!! Brought tears to my eyes how awesome!!!
~christina

Heaven's Eye Phtotography said...

I couldn't imagine a more amazing photographer that would appreciate and capture every aspect of this moment of a lifetime. You captured their story flawlessly and I think I have watched the slideshow 3 times:) Truly a blessing...great work. K

HazelnutPhotography said...

What an absolutely amazing groom-to-be for setting this up for his bride. Amazing images... the look on her face when she sees the ring on her finger for the first time... Tear inducing.

Nicole L. Rogers said...

Seriously I had tears streaming down my face...those were so beautiful!

Lydia said...

Aww! So beautiful and sweet!!

Anonymous said...

aww i love the slideshow! beautiful shots and moments :)

Corey McNabb said...

Awesome! What a special moment to capture.

I miss my pocket Shy! xo

C~

OHANA PHOTOGRAPHERS said...

oh shyla girl how awesome is this!!! I absolutely LOVE the look on her face in this image, you can so feel the love and happiness there! plain and simple perfection! have a blessed weekend!!

Anonymous said...

Sooooo beautiful!!! I cried.

Anonymous said...

ok. i cried.
that was beautifully done and captured :)

Anonymous said...

Wow Shyla, these are amazing!!! I don't think anyone can go through this slideshow without crying! Fantastic job!!!

Anna Yu said...

xnik-xnik...ohh, i'm so emotional!
precious!

sandie jo salisbury said...

these are so beautiful!!!! great song.. perfect timeing!!!! what a fun way to propose! You did a GREAT job capturing it!

Kiera said...

I know Im super late getting to this but that was BEAUTIFUl! I cried a little.

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