Korey called me the beginning of January to have me capture his marriage proposal to his girlfriend Lauren. I was so impressed with his foresight and advance planning – I mean a GUY that was making plan three months in advance – impressive, right? And not only was he booking a photographer three months in advance, he already thought out many of the details and decided where he wanted to propose – along the lakefront by the Adler Planetarium so the beautiful Chicago skyline could serve as the backdrop for this momentous occasion. Now I really liked this guy! I was a bit concerned in January that the weather may interfere with his grand plans for an outdoor proposal. Who knew that Chicago was actually going to have a spring this year, let alone the amazing one we’ve experienced so far. April in Chicago is usually filled with grey skies, rain and quite often a snowstorm or two. Not remotely close to a reliable time to plan on outdoor shoot.

We tried to come up with an indoor location that could serve as our weather-induced back up plan. And then we experienced beautiful weather for the majority of March, the weather no longer seemed like it would be an issue – it was going to be gorgeous that day just as it had been for the weeks leading up to it. But as the big day got closer – wouldn’t you know it – gray skies, cooler weather and heavy rain showed up in the forecast. Really? Korey came up with Union Station as our Plan B, and while I’m sure it could have worked just fine, I have to admit that I wasn’t that excited about it. It was just going to be so much better along the lakefront!

As the afternoon of the big day went on, the weather really looked like it was going to effect our plans. The skies were dark and rain squalls were showing on the radar. Korey decided we’d risk it and forge ahead with the Adler location, hoping to get in at least the proposal before the rain started. I arrived about 30 minutes before Korey and Lauren to set up the table with a white table cloth with a ribbon tied around the base, several pillar candles with bows tied on them by Korey (so cute that he even thought of all the little details!), a bouquet of roses and a Mickey & Minnie Mouse bride and groom statue (Lauren is a huge fan of Mickey & Minnie). About five minutes before they were to arrive, the sky brightened up!

I waited for them with my cameras out of sight. Korey walked Lauren along the bend of the lakefront  in front of the Planetarium and Lauren didn’t even notice the table until they came right up on it. Korey got down on one knee and Lauren seemed so confused, and then it hit her…  She let out several “OMG”s and giggles as she realized what was happening. IT WAS SO AWESOME! Such a beautiful thing to witness and be a part of.

After she said yes, we did some portraits to capture some of the glow – these two were radiating love and excitement…

A big congratulations to you Lauren & Korey!! Thanks for having me be a part of your big life event – I absolutely loved it!!

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