Emma & Evan Proposal

So there it is. You could look at that picture and say, "Wow, that is so perfect," and you could stop there. Or, I could let you in on something even sweeter... one of the sweetest moments I think I have ever witnessed.

You might want your tissue box for this one.

I suppose I should start from the beginning. I met Emma the first week of my dental assisting program. She seemed like a nice normal person, so I thought I should stick around her and try to become buddies. And I'm glad I did!

Emma is such a sweetie. She is so energetic and caring, and even if she is having "one of those days", she will still make you laugh (even if sometimes its laughing at her). Hehe. She can be a little forgetful at times, but she wouldn't be Emma if she wasn't. She is one of those people who just makes others gravitate towards her because she is just SO friendly.

As I got to know her, I learned that she was dating this guy Evan. She told me how they had met in high school and how they had been dating for a few years now. I asked her if she thought he was the one and if they had talked about marriage, and right away she said yes... obvi! But who was I to know? lol.

Over the year we grew closer and talked about wedding ideas and such - like any girly girl would of course!

Later on in the school year I could tell something was different... she grew a little quieter... but not so much so that any "normal" person would be able to tell.

Then she told me.

Evan had been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma.

She told me how he had started undergoing chemotherapy in order to fight the cancer. Instead of running away like some people would, she would always go to the hospital to be with him to help him through it. She told me how she was scared of getting sick because she couldn't be with him if that was to happen. As time went by she would tell me of how he would get really sick and have to stay in the hospital a few days, so she would go visit him all the time.

Anyone who knows a loved one who has had cancer knows the scare it can be and the fear of the unknown; yet, Emma never questioned her relationship. Instead she has fought for her relationship and stood by Evan's side. The best part? She knew God was in control and that through Him, they could overcome anything.

This past week, I received an Instagram request from @evanbeukema. I thought, "Oh cool, Emma's boyfriend followed me." However, Thursday night I received the message that Friday he was going to propose, and that Emma would love it if I could capture the moment!

Of course I said yes, I would drop anything to be able to witness that special time and be there for Emma.

So Friday evening I drove out to meet Emma's sister, not really knowing what to expect (as is normal for photographing proposals). I met Annie at a local gas station and followed her to where we would switch vehicles and head out to the proposal site. I came to find out all her friends were in on the secret and one of them even dressed up as their "waiter" for the evening.

As we were driving to the site, we drove through this large piece of land that Evan's family owned, called "The Pit". "The Pit" was filled with sandy hills and little lakes - turns out this was a big hangout for Evan growing up and that he had taken Emma there numbers of times (how cute is that!?).

We kept driving until we reached the top.

There it was. A little table and chairs, flowers, candles, champagne - the whole shindig. On the table sat a laptop on which played a video that Evan had put together of pictures from their memories together. So precious.

Everyone got out of the truck to light the candles and get everything perfect for when they arrived. Now all we needed to do was find a hiding place. We went over the hill while waiting for them to come up. Soon enough they pulled onto the site, and Evan led her over to the table where they would watch the little video.

You could hear her little squeals of joy and laughter as the photos scrolled through - one of those "you had to be there" moments.

Then it happened; he dropped to one knee, and in that moment I knew she could never be happier as she looked to me sobbing with joy and contentment.

It made me happy to be a photographer that night... because a picture is worth a thousand words, and I hope you can see that as you scroll through the beautiful moment - now beautiful memories.

Check out the whole album under Engagements & Weddings in Gallery!