It was a chilly winter morning outside the Reading Museum. Inside the museum, hearts were about to set fire as a surprise engagement was about to take place! Zach Essig was just moments away from popping the big question in a fun but surprising way. Amy Kemp, Zach’s girlfriend, had been told that the museum was in need of a young couple to shoot for a spread in the Berks County Living magazine. She had little inkling that this was all a ploy for Zach to ask her to marry him. Everything was all happening in the blink of an eye.
“Can we just get to the marble staircase,” Zach thought as the photography session began.
We began the shoot by photographing different “couple” style images inside the art gallery. “I just couldn’t believe this day was here,” he told us later, “it was two months of planning and I was definitely ready to pop the question.” As we photographed, the main goal was to get to the marble staircase that connects the second-floor exhibits up to the third-floor art gallery.
Zach had the ring in his coat, not able to carry it with him because of the size of the box. “I thought about putting it in an envelope and carrying it in my pocket, but decided that might take away from the photographs.” As we reached our way to the staircase, Zach grabbed his jacket (which is where he was keeping the ring) and placed it on the stairs behind him. The two were then positioned on the landing in the middle of the stairs. “I had this big speech planned out, however I began to tear up and couldn’t get it out. I decided at that point to just grab the ring and wing it,” he said recalling the moment.
“Holy crap!” cried Amy, as she was taken by complete surprise while Zach grabbed the ring box from his jacket. As Zach went to his knee with the ring box in hand, Amy nodded in excitement and instantaneously pulled Zach up to embrace him. It was quite a beautiful moment.
“Every girl dreams of this moment and I really never thought it would happen for me, but when you know he’s the one, you know” shared Amy.
Following their engagement, we did a short photo session outside the museum in the snow. The snow, slowly melting, was still about 6” deep in some spots making it a little more difficult to photograph. However, the newly engaged couple was up for the challenge and made it easy to work with. Working together, we were able to capture some spectacular images!
I asked the couple later what their favorite photo moments were.
Amy: “This image of us on the bridge, it’s this genuine smile Zach emulates that is the reason I fell in love with him the very first time we saw each other.
Zach: “The walking photo in the snow, it really describes our relationship. We laugh and smile all the time together, but can be serious with each other when it’s needed. She is my best friend.”
It was a true honor to be a part of this moment between Amy and her fiancé Zach. We were able to capture some amazing moments that will now last a lifetime, and we can’t wait to capture their future wedding.
