This was my first time photographing a proposal and I was SO EXCITED! (Yes, caps and exclamation points very necessary!) What a special moment to get to help someone remember forever, right?

This session was extra special from the start for a couple of reasons. Chrissy is the younger sister of my best friend Angie so I've known her since she was five years old, which made this even more of a pretty cool experience! I've watched her grow from a chubby-thighed, sweet little girl to a loving, creative, clever woman. And she and Paul? High school sweethearts.

Paul stole Chrissy's heart when she was 15 and he was 17. She was on the way to a party with her friends and they got lost so they called Paul for directions, whom Chrissy hadn't met yet. Paul met them at a gas station and had them follow him to the house, where he and Chrissy would end up talking all night long. She nicknamed him "the hotness" that night between her friends and they told him her little secret. Ah, 15-year-old flirtations... Chrissy was embarrassed, but intrigued, and they continued to talk until she had to leave because of her curfew. She gave Paul a hug and told him it was nice to meet him.

The next day, Paul asked Chrissy's friends for her information, including her screen name on AIM (does this part make anyone else feel old?), while she, at the same time, was poking her friends for info on him. Paul picked her up a few days later for their first date: Hot chocolate on the sea wall in beautiful downtown West Palm Beach. And, as the say, the rest is history! They've been inseparable ever since, sharing their love of the ocean and anything to do with it or hunting thrift shops and getting excited over new music together.

Ten years later, after all the growing pains and growing up, Paul called me up to ask if I could plan a fake photo shoot so he could propose to her. (!!!) This was going to be perfect! I love photographing Chrissy and I often turn to her when I want to try out new ideas or practice – so this plan didn't set off any kind of clues, thank goodness! I let her decide on a theme and I felt bad about making her jump through some hoops, but I knew she would be thrilled about the end result. :D We took a few pics to "warm up" and when Paul gave the signal, we went for it and pulled it off perfectly – she was stunned. She called Angie immediately afterwards and the emotions came pouring out. It was really, really beautiful.

CONGRATULATIONS, you guys! I can't wait for your big day!

xx