One of my favorite proposals ever took place about a year ago in Venice. David called me very last minute from New York as he came up with an idea of hiring a professional photographer to capture his girl saying Yes on the Venetian lagoon.

 He wanted it all to be perfect as he kept mentioning Dasha deserves all the best. We arranged the surprise marriage proposal photoshoot at 7am in the middle of San Marc's square as capturing the basilica in the background was his dream.

Everything was set up - he new the spot where he was meant to appear at 7am, he knew how to stand and what to pay attention to. The only thing we didn't really plan was the pouring rain!

 

I got to the spot at 6.30am and was waiting for them to capture the big moment. I was exactly in front of the basilica, as far from it as possible, being ready to capture the couple and the whole architecture in the background - this is where David and Dasha were meant to be too.

All of a sudden, I noticed a guy kneeling down few hundred metres away from me, right by the basilica's wall! This is when I realised David stressed out too much and messed up with the spots! I was running as fast as I could, taking photos at the same time, trying not to die of a heart attack. I managed to take few shots of him still being on his knee but I swear I was shaking so much when I got close, I couldn't even say hi and introduce myself!

David felt already he messed something up but still hoped he would have the Basilica captured in the background. As soon as he asked me if I managed to include the whole architecture, I had to explain that something went wrong. All this time I was praying I had any good photos of the proposal as I knew I was running when taking them, so it was almost impossible to have any decent sharp shots in a gloomy weather when the light conditions were a bit of a challenge for a camera.

 Obviously Dasha had no idea we planned it to be a bit different to what it was - as soon as she saw some sneak peeks (which were actually sharp!) she almost cried with excitement and happiness.

 

This was when I started breathing again and stopped shaking this much. After all, David and I came to a conclusion that the final proposal images came up way better to what we planned and they're not only 100% candid but also unusual as no one else has such images of a proposal in Venice! The rain and all the shiny pavements only added to the final look.

Few months later, seeing their Save the Date card with my image almost made me cry. This is why I do what I love!

 

Photos:  Kinga Leftska