Shawn and I met in High School, though we didn’t really
become close friends until after graduation. We talked daily from our
respective freshman year dorm rooms via AOL instant messenger, and would meet
up when we were home each break, at the same booth at Pizzeria Uno (in our
defense, we were broke and their deep dish is amazing). A few years later, he
met Krista, and I remember the night he told me about her. He told me about how
much they had in common, how amazing their first date was, and their weird,
shared love of Yoohoo. It was about two weeks into their relationship, and he
was in love. Lucky for me, as soon as I met Krista I loved her too. A couple of months ago, Shawn told me he was
going to propose and asked if I’d photograph it. He scouted locations and
emailed me diagrams with arrows plastered all over them indicating where we’d
all be standing, before ultimately deciding on the beautiful rooftop of his
parents’ building. On the day of the
proposal, I found myself more nervous than I’ve ever been for any professional
gig. A few minutes before Shawn and Krista arrived on the roof, I set myself up
on a deck chair pretending to read with the hood pulled up on my baggy
sweatshirt (the best we could come up with for a disguise). The next few minutes
were a blur: Shawn got down on his knee, Krista burst into tears, I grabbed a
camera. Presumably somewhere in here, she also said yes. Shawn had done a good job throwing her off course- the poor girl was shocked. She asked if her
family knew and right on cue, they all burst onto the roof too. More tears:
hers, theirs, mine. As the sun started to set, we headed out to Park Avenue,
where the two of them got into a cab to get to their reservation at Eleven
Madison Park and I got into a cab to try and come down from my shaky adrenaline
high and contemplate a future career as a spy. Congratulations, Shawn and
Krista. Love you both!
