October 7th, 2020 – the day Cody & Erica got engaged! 

Cody, my barber and buddy, has been chatting to me during my cuts abut Erica for years – since they first got together. When he finally told me he was going to propose and showed me the ring, I was so stoked for him to be moving towards the next chapter in his life. He mentioned during my next cut a few weeks later that he wanted to do it soon – real soon – and wanted me to hide and take pictures of him doing it. We made the drive to a beautiful spot upstate overlooking the mountains and it was a clear, sunny day. It was beautiful and the leaves were just starting to change, I couldn’t wait to see what it would look like in a couple weeks.

We made a detailed plan about how it would go down – I would get there first and pretend to just be a photographer taking pictures of the pretty view and the cool stone church building. They would have a picnic, I’d do the signal, he would propose and I’d be right there taking pictures of them disguised as a casual photographer. 

Well, when I got there it started to rain. And it kept raining. I wasn’t sure what to do, it was a light rain but definitely too wet for a picnic. I was hiding, they arrived and I got a text from Cody saying, “Now.” I was unsure if he meant they arrived now, or if he meant he wanted to skip the picnic and propose now, so just to be safe and see what they were doing I walked over to the side they were on while taking pictures of the building. I saw him turn her towards him and I knew it was about to happen, my heart was beating so fast and I was so excited for him. He got down on one knee and I just started firing away. 

She said YES!!

She had no idea it was going to happen, so it was a totally successful surprise. I went to introduce myself and finally meet the woman I’ve been hearing about during my haircuts for so long, and Cody went to grab the cooler with champagne and roses that I hid on the side of the building when I got there.

We took a few more pictures and then I went about my way to let them enjoy their moment alone with each other. I was so happy that I was able to capture these photos of this special moment for them that they can cherish forever.