I had a most wonderful privilege to witness one of my dearest friends, Lulu, become engaged to her fiancé, David, earlier this fall.  Let me tell you a little bit about Lulu. Anyone who knows her would probably say she is one of the funnest people to be around. Not only does she always have a smile on her face, but she is always excited about something, and it is almost always contagious. She is also brilliant, hardworking, creative, and crafty with her hands. She always has some kind of project going on. Her heart is so compassionate and loving; she is always serving and helping others, not begrudgingly, but with joy. So how did I get such a privilege to come to know this lovely human being, you may ask? 🙂

Lulu and I go all the way back to when I first arrived in America, 14+ years ago now, when we were wide-eyed, little middle schoolers. We were in the same Sunday School at church, and in our weirdness and mutual appreciation of strange things, we’ve been attached at the hip ever since. Though separated by distance over the years, our friendship has only grown stronger as we grew older. She has been a friend, a sister, and an example of Christ and His love to me.

The engagement planning started few months ago as I receive a curious email from David asking how Gideon and I were doing. Though I must admit, if it wasn’t for Gideon’s keen observation of the situation, I would’ve thought it was just a friendly email and have missed the whole deal.  But lo and behold, I scrolled down and there was a secret message!! It was a lot of fun as we tried to figure out ideas and times that would work for all of us and when we should fly to Boston and capture this special moment of theirs, without Lulu finding out! It was great for Gideon and I to get to know David in the process, too. I was happy to know that my dear friend will be joined with someone who cares tremendously for her, loves Jesus, and is very kind to those around him.

The special event happened in the grand and breathtaking Arnold Arboretum in Boston. We woke up early in the morning to scout out the place before David went to pick Lulu up. It was a beautiful, quiet, foggy morning with rays of sunlight beaming through the tree branches and leaves. It was perfect. We were thankful that God had pushed the previously forecasted rain to the next day.

We hiked up Peter’s Hill via this beautiful but steep and slightly muddy path that left the 3 of us breathless when we got to the top. We decided to find another route for Lulu.

Up on the hill, we found the rock with a beautiful view of the Boston skyline. Gideon and David did a few test shots to make sure we had a good hiding place.

Then, David went to pick Lulu up (before he leaves her waiting even longer)! Gideon and David used a location-sharing a.k.a. stalking-with-permission app called Glympse so we can keep tract of where they are. So, we waited. We stalked. We protected our monumental rock.

When the proximity between our dots on Glympse became closer and closer, we found our hiding spot and made sure to give the signal to David when the coast was clear.
Thus began the paparazzi moment!! SO EXCITING!!! 

Ahhh :). Isn’t that sweet! And as you probably have guessed, yes, she did say “yes.” Good job David for the well-planned surprises! 
I love that I had the privilege to capture their engagement photos from the actual day of engagement when the surprise and emotions are still raw and fresh.

Sigh, what a privilege this was! I’m still smiling :).
Thank you, Lulu and David! I am so happy and excited for you two and your adventures ahead!  

Love,
Cat