Cadillac Place Proposal

Alen pulled off the perfect Cadillac Place proposal to his fiance Lejla on a rainy day in Detroit.

Love is in the air and I am here for it. Alen emailed me looking for some help to propose to his girlfriend Lejla. The one problem: he lives in Grand Rapids and is unfamiliar with Detroit. No problem, I thought to myself. I have photographed numerous proposals in Detroit and knew I could help him pick the perfect location and pull off the perfect proposal. We started work and communicated for week or two, looking at various locations to see what would match Lejla’s style and what could Alen say to bring her there. It turns out, Alen’s birthday is next week so he drove in to town to “celebrate” his birthday by getting dressed up, taking some photos together downtown, and later going out to eat at Parc in Campus Martius. As Lejla later said, “I thought you meant we would take a selfie or something!” No, Alen had much bigger plans for their photoshoot.

As the day got closer, the weather got worse. It was calling for three days of rain. We can handle a little drizzle. In fact, proposing in the rain could be romantic. This was more than just a little drizzle and we needed a backup plan. I mentioned to Alen earlier than a Cadillac Place proposal would be beautiful – the ornate portico would be the perfect backdrop for a proposal – and protected by the elements. An hour before the proposal, we called the audible, texted him the address, and headed down to prep the spot.

With our cameras concealed, Becky and I snuggled up under an umbrella at the corner of the opening, watching at Alen and Lejla approach. As they stepped into the awning, Alen guided Lejla to the center and began talking to her. Her gaze was fixed on him as I slowly slid backwards into position; Becky stood out in the rain, ready to photograph her reaction. Finally, Alen took a knee and asked for her hand in marriage. She was visibly shocked, shaken, and excited. Her screams of “Yes! Yes! Oh my god, Yes!” echoed in the concrete hallway. As I wiped a tear away, I looked to my right and saw becky doing the same. Truly, all of us were crying and in disbelief of the beauty in front of us. Love is wonderful.

Throughout the entire proposal, Lejla couldn’t believe what was happening. Her emotions were a wonderful roller coaster; her shock and disbelief quickly turned to overwhelming joy.

Of all the moments, to me, this is one of the most special: the moment that represents his whole world, his future, his duty to protect, in his arms.

On cue, Lejla had to check out the beautiful new accessory!

I think it is safe to say, she likes her ring and her new title of fiancée.

Lejla was definitely in her own little world during her Cadillac Place proposal. Despite standing just 15 feet away, she had no idea we were there. Another favorite moment to capture: when she finally puts it all together and realizes she was being photographed.

After giving them some time to enjoy the moment, we took some engagement photos.

With the rain still coming down, we ducked across the street and headed into the Fisher Building.

As they made their way towards downtown, we stopped at one last spot – Parker’s Alley – for a quick photo op.