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A magical rainy day in Venice in the middle of September
Adam and Nick were traveling from California, for a well deserved couple holiday. And then there was a marriage proposal carefully planned for months – but Nick didn’t know. I could not have been happier to document it, when the day finally came. Then it started raining.
Luckily, the planning was in the capable hands of Brilliant Venice, a team of wedding and event planners based in Venice. The first idea was to meet in Riva degli Schiavoni. But with the rain the location was not a good option anymore.
They soon found an alternative location, under the Rialto market porch.
Protected by the roof, the dancers the dancers warmed up for a few minutes before starting to dance to the tune of “You’re the one that I want” by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
Adam pretended to be casually interested in the dance, and made Nick stop to watch the performance. Me and my team were distributed around the dancers to capture as much as possible, from every angle.
He did not expect the dance to be dedicated to him
The next song was “Marry you” by Bruno Mars. I thought Adam was starting to suspect, but was still hesitant to react (and the video captures it very well!). Then the dancer made their move, as planned with Adam.
This was an incredibly touching moment for everyone involved
I found myself choked with emotion while I was photographing them. When Adam finally revealed himself and brought Nick at the center of the dance group, he was speechless. The actual proposal was a blur, but there were so many smiles.
An event like a same-sex marriage proposal is such a happy moment for the couple and for everyone watching, it melts your heart. I wish I could document more and more of them.
Water reflections, smiles and Piazza San Marco
After the proposal we had a couple shoot planned and we had a great time exploring the area between Rialto and Piazza San Marco, where they had a table booked at the exclusive Ristorante Quadri. They told me more about their love story, how the proposal was an actual surprise, and how happy they were to have created such an emotional memory here, in Venice.
“Camilla did an incredible job for our surprise engagement in Venice in September. We were in constant communication before the day and she went out of her way to ensure that everything was perfect! She stayed with us after the engagement longer than she needed to and even though the weather was not great she somehow managed to take the most beautiful pictures, making an otherwise rainy, drizzly day look magical like out of a movie. A truly talented photographer. I highly recommend her for any event. You will not be disappointed.”
– Adam
