I received a call from a man who called Himself Eric. Him: ”Hey Rehema. I’m about to propose to my lady. We’ve been together for a little over a year. She’s the one. I have it all planned out, the location, the ring, the friends, the whole nine-yard. All that’s left, is her response to this.” I, already too invested in this conversation, albeit brief, was sold. We discussed a bit more about the date, the type of imagery he’d expect from me and the details of the planned surprise proposal.
Three days later, it was D-Day. I had packed my gear and there I was, at the entrance of The Social House, an exclusive restaurant in the Lavington area in Nairobi, Kenya. Went up to the room where the surprise was to take place. It was neat, intimate and warm. As I surveyed the room, it had been filled with memorabilia. Imagery from their time together. Road trips, selfies, birthday surprises, posed imagery. It felt like walking into a museum not to mention the music really brought the romantic mood into full swing.
Glancing over at Eric, I could tell he was nervous. The good kind, the mixed kind, I wasn’t sure. To distract him a bit, I took him out of the room, to have a mini photo session to calm his nerves. He was grateful for it. I inquired more about his fiancé and he shared so much detail about her. Looking at him and reading his body language, I knew that He truly was in it for the long haul.
Into the elevator, and back to the lobby. I had spotted our unsuspecting bride-to-be. I was in full incognito mode, capturing her as she waited to be directed on where to go. The story was, she was here for lunch with the mentor. So everything else happening in the background she was oblivious to. I loved it. Being a stickler for timekeeping, into the elevator, I went, and back into the surprise proposal room and waited.
Him: ”Hey Rehema. I’m about to propose to my lady. We’ve been together for a little over a year. She’s the one. I have it all planned out, the location, the ring, the friends, the whole nine-yard. All that’s left, is her response to this.”
Reading Eric’s body language, his heart beating fast, him trying to control his heartbeat by taking slow deep breaths. Rubbing his hands together, taking small paced steps to calm down. I knew a big decision had to be made today. All I could do was look at him, nod my head and set up my camera for the walk-in.
She’s on her way up, said the person on the other line. Camera in hand, set and the door swung open. The look on her face, the shock, the confusion. As she walked into the room, her focus fell on the rose-petal-filled flow directing her to where to step. As she glanced to the left to view the framed imagery of their relationship.
Looking up only to find Eric, ready to embrace her. He stretched out his hand and drew her into his space. She still shook asking what was going on, listening to his beautifully composed sincere poem. Stunned. As he went down on his one knee, Her face was filled with tears, so much so it was fogging her glasses. ”YES! I will marry you!”. The large screen went on and everyone on the other side of the Zoom call screaming and crying and laughing crying could only share their sincere congratulations.
It was an honour to be around all this love. Documenting the beautiful tears, the excitement in their eyes, and the undisputed feeling of love. I could only smile and look-up knowing, this was another History in the making documented for their Legacy.
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