I am so excited for my friend Joe and his beautiful fiancee. I had the privilege of being there taking pictures when Joe proposed to Keijo on Christmas Eve.

The original plan was that Joe was going to take her to dinner and then bring her to a coffee shop that they like in downtown Orlando, but he found out they were closed over the holidays. When he stopped by to discover that, he ended up noticing that The Veranda Bed & Breakfast had a nice little patio in front. He stopped in and got permission to use their tables that evening and together we figured out how to make this work.

I ended up picking up some cake and candles and Martinelli’s and brought the necessary dishes for serving it all. Joe’s sole job was to get Keijo there after dinner and get her to say “yes”.

I loved talking to Joe right before he left for dinner. He commented “my heart is thumping like it is going to burst out of my chest”.

Though I am a romantic and absolutely love to read books with proposals and see movies with them, I can’t tell you what was said between the two that evening. I wouldn’t have dreamed of intruding on their privacy.

Two funny things happened, at least according to me. The first is that though I was able to find a place to hide while taking the pictures, every so often I could hear Keijo say “who is that?”. I don’t know how Joe responded, but I just pretended that I wasn’t there. The other funny incident was from the fact that in my careful planning on bringing wine glasses, plates, forks and even nice cloth napkins, I didn’t bring a bottle opener for the Martinelli’s. I could see Joe struggle to open it, and then put it back down for a little bit, and then pick it up again to give it another try. He finally gave up after several tries and brought the bottle across the street to a 7-11 store to ask them to open it!

Here are some of the shots for that evening. I’m so thankful for my 50mm 1.4 lens and that my camera did so well at 1600 ISO!

The table waiting for the lovebirds to arrive:

While I was waiting for Joe and Keijo, the lady working at The Veranda Bed & Breakfast came out to see if there was anything we needed. These folks are so sweet and very helpful.

I was able to hide behind this sign just about the entire time

And now here are Joe and Keijo

I love this one with the fuzzy leaves giving such a soft glow

Joe struggling with the bottle

And finally I was able to come out of hiding and be the first to congratulate them!

Joe and Keijo, I am so happy for you. I can’t wait to do your engagement session and wedding!