Fisher Building Proposal

This has been our busiest year of proposals…even our busiest month of proposals…and I am not complaining. To be given the honor to document the moment two peoples’ lives change is just incredible. So when Jay reached out to me inquiring about a Fisher Building proposal, I was all for it. Jay saw a previous Fisher Building proposal that I photographed and thought that would be the perfect spot for his proposal. Beth’s friend had season tickets to the Fisher Theatre and could use that as an excuse to get Beth downtown and into the building. Truth be told, the story Beth’s friend told her was they couldn’t use tickets to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Jay said he would use the tickets to the show to get he and Beth in the holiday mood. Afterwards, Beth laughed, telling us she thought it was a little odd that Jay would use the tickets to the child-oriented musical instead of other families members who have kids. It was all starting to make sense.

Adding to the planning fun, Jay couldn’t meet at the Fisher prior to his proposal because he lives in San Francisco, so everything had to be done virtually; piecing together where to park, how to enter, and where to stand through diagrams and photos from my previous Fisher Building proposal. Jay did share photos of him and Beth prior to their big day and let me know he would most likely wear a grey sport coat. Peering down onto the first floor, I saw a couple enter the Fisher, holding hands. Donning a grey sport coat, Jay glanced up at where I was standing. It was them. Now, it was just a matter of moments before the proposal.

Jay and Beth walked past us; Jay acting confused as to where they were. As Beth tried to walk past the spot, Jay pulled her hand back, stopping her, and began talking to her. Wanting to give them their privacy in the tight space, I left the lights off until Jay started to go down on a knee. At that moment, Beth’s hopes came true. She was all smiles as Jay asked for her hand in marriage.

After their special moment, Beth turned and in the most warm and welcoming voice said, “Helloooo.” We chuckled. The lights were quite the giveaway that we were there. Beth didn’t flinch though; she was fully present in the moment and focused on Jay.

After a giving Beth and Jay a few minutes to soak it all in, we took some some photos in the spot before heading down to the ground floor for a few more.

Jay and Beth were both so comfortable in front of the camera. Unbeknownst to Beth, they were almost too natural! Jay had one more surprise waiting for them and we were ahead of schedule! We decided to burn some time by heading across the street to Cadillac Place apartments for a few photos.

As we wrapped up our time together, I suggested they head back inside the Fisher Building, take a few selfies, and allow Jay to fill in all of the details behind the proposal. In reality, I needed a head start to head down to Ottava Via, where Jay and Beth’s family were waiting to help them celebrate. It was a very welcomed surprise as many of them came from out-of-state.