Marriage Proposal at the Detroit Institute of Art

Thursday, February 20th, 2020

I have to be honest: I was a little nervous photographing Greg’s marriage proposal to Lindsey. Normally, I like to meet with the guy proposing at the location, walk him through the proposal, and answer any questions he may have. Our schedules didn’t align but luckily, I recently photographed another proposal at the Detroit Institute of Art and was able to walk him through a few of the details.

I arrived at the DIA right when they opened and got in position, ready to photograph the marriage proposal. Much to my surprise, about 100 other people were also there warming up, stretching, and getting ready for group yoga hosted by Motor Om Yoga in the next room. That didn’t deter Greg though. Right on time, he brought Lindsey into the Diego Rivera room, spoke from the heart, and made the best decision of his life. Lindsey’s reaction was so genuine and precious, it left her smiling for hours.

This is always one of my favorite moments in a marriage proposal: when the person getting proposed to realizes everything that is going on and sees me. The moment starts to sink in and is normally followed by a “Oh come on!” or “Are your serious?!” After Lindsey realized that Greg had more in store than just a proposal, I quickly introduced myself and got right back to shooting her moment.

This is my favorite moment of a marriage proposal. With each proposal there is a decisive moment when two world’s become one; when everything they wished for, talked about, dreamt about, and hoped for becomes reality. The moment and resulting photo is never the same, but the emotions are. This is Lindsey and Greg’s moment of the future.

And of course you have to check out the ring!

So after greg and Lindsey took a few minutes in the Diego Rivera room to soak it all in, we turned our time together towards more of a formal feel. Walking around the DIA and hearing their story was only proved what the photos already showed: they are a wonderful couple.