This post will give you chills! How Roy Proposed!

Okay. So I'm going to start in the middle of the story and then do a flashback...


I'm meeting Tonya & Roy for the first time last year for a wedding photography consultation...everything is normal until I ask, "So how did Roy propose?"


When she started explaining, I realized that I knew this couple and not only knew their proposal story, I had been there and PHOTOGRAPHED IT!


Flashback: Last September, I was hired to come to Ft. Lewis and photo-document a client's husband coming home from Iraq after 15 long months, and after missing most of his precious daughter's first year of life. Remember this shot? It's of them and it's one of my all-time favorites....
It was emotionally overwhelming to stand in that gymnasium the day they all came home, just bursting at the seams with wives, mothers, girlfriends, sisters, fathers, brothers, sons and daughters...wanting nothing more than to hold their soldier and know they are HOME and safe...We waited for hours in that gym, and finally, FINALLY in marches hundreds of soldiers, and they stand in formation. The energy level, already high, just shoots through the roof. I'll never forget what it felt like to be there. And before they are allowed to break up and find their families, there was some business. First, a formal welcome. Second, a prayer. And third, one soldier was asked to come forward. It turns out to be Roy, who is a total stranger to me at the time. Tonya was requested to come forward and all of a sudden, Roy is down on one knee and the ENTIRE gymnasium erupts in deafening cheers as Tonya accepts Roy's proposal...





I didn't know who they were, and assumed the newspaper photog (pictured) would have gotten their info and provided them with closer, clearer images. So I had all but forgot about the proposal until I'm at their wedding consult and Tonya tells me about the proposal!! All of a sudden it all rushed back to me and I did get to give her the 3 shots I had...



Luckily, I got to photograph them once more and give her LOTS of shots to celebrate their engagement....





Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing their GORGEOUS Leavenworth wedding at The Beecher Hill House...can't wait to show you the images from their wedding!