About a month ago, Luke was surfing the net and found a photo shoot that I had done of a proposal at the lighthouse. He was about to plan a detailed proposal for his girlfriend Dominique in St. Augustine and needed a photographer for capture every second of it! I LOVE shooting proposals because I get to act like a secret agent! The plan was: Ryland and I would meet Luke and Dominique at the marina downtown to go on an eco-tour of the inter coastal. When we arrived downtown, it was pouring down rain! Ryland and I arrived first and waited for Luke and Dominique to join us for our VERY ECO tour, complete with 500 inches of rain. haha.  Dominique walked gracefully in her black dress and heels through the rain puddles because Luke (being the stud that he is) told her to wear something nice for dinner after their boat ride. After about half an hour of waiting for the rain to stop and discussing how I am a teacher who does wild-life photography on the side (haha!), Dominique finally decided to head back to the Bed and Breakfast to change into shorts and a t-shirt for the tour. As she walked away, Luke and I rolled our eyes at each other…”Now she will be wearing shorts and a t-shirt for the proposal!…oh…and a plastic rain coat!” oh well….

Finally we got onto the boat in our rain gear and headed out toward the fort for a nice boat ride. The captain quieted the engine at the right spot AND……nothing. Luke had gotten out the ring box, got down on one knee, but Dominique was taking photos of the view and had NO idea that the three of us had our eyes totally fixed on her and were waiting SO patiently for her to turn around! For Ryland, the captain, and me, it seemed like forever and took all that was in us not to burst out laughing! Finally, Dominique turned around and realized what was happening. It was such a beautiful moment as we listened (and took photos) of Luke’s expression of his love for Dominique. Luke—you are a smoooooth dude. Great job! Since we got rained out of half of the photo session, I offered to meet Luke and Dominique the next morning for some engagement shots.

Check out St. Augustine Ecotours. They were so great! Double rainbow all the way across the sky! What a perfect end to the perfect proposal!The captain was so sweet. After the actual proposal, he returned to the marina for Dominique to slip back into her black dress for some photos. Luke and Dominique are a couple devoted to the Lord. It is so encouraging to meet other couples who model their love after the love of God. When we met each other, it was as if Ryland and I had instant friends. We knew them for less than 24 hours but somehow it seemed like much longer. Congratulations Luke and Dominique! I am so happy for you! May 5th will come SO much faster than you can imagine. May God richly bless you for honoring him in your relationship!