I'd passed the time socializing with curious dogs. One little roly poly pit bull mix scampered over while I was smoothing out the sand and danced delightedly, trampling the stone text in front of me. No No No You Naughty Puppy! I exclaimed, and scooped up the happy wiggling dog and held him in my lap until the owner showed up to call him away. Some people wandered over while I was on guard duty, and I explained what was soon to unfold. A man with 2 jack russels took photos of the stones while I photographed the dogs. Two women hoped to witness the proposal; they assured me they'd respectable a good distance away. I watched three other photographers show up and leave with couples for engagement sessions. I took note of lenses used and poses suggested.The sun had set. I was starting to worry about lighting. The beach had emptied out, and I was getting chilly - glad that I'd grabbed a sweatshirt on the way out. Then way way down the beach, I saw a couple appear. I figured it had to be them, as they were dressed so nicely. They made their way down the beach, parallel to the water and made a 90 degree turn inland 20 ft past my beach blanket. He'd placed a hand over her eyes and led her to the stone message. It takes a little while to read text written in stones that are almost the same color as the sand, so I think she must have just managed to make out the words when he turned her around and went down on one knee (in the positioning I'd recommended for the best profile shot with the GG Bridge in the background; he'd practiced earlier).
It is really breathtaking, to live witness something as emotional as a marriage proposal. How often does one get to watch some one get proposed to, much less document it? I saw her face melt into happy tears. He was beaming the entire time.
She said Yes.We squeezed in a few couple photograph afterwards, though the dim light was a huge struggle for my camera. Thank the 50mm f/1.4 for the top photo! That and somehow my hands had managed to steady after being cold from the onset of the evening. Wow, the things I get to do as a photographer.