How we met: In 2010 was vacationing in Hawaii with family friends when I spotted handsome bellman… tall, blue-eyed, brown hair.
It was my birthday that weekend we were there and another family friend had sent me a birthday present to use while I was there. Lo and behold, it was the same handsome bellman who I had seen earlier that came to deliver my present. We started talking and he offered to take me out and show me a bit of the island if I had some spare time.
A few nights later, my family friend told me to go and call him to go out. I hesitated at first, but she told me I really had nothing to lose. So I mustered up the guts (I usually NEVER do these things) and picked up the phone to call the bell desk. Unfortunately the clerk said he was already off. I hesitated again, but then asked if there was any other way for me to get a hold of him. She told me that she would call him and ask if she could give me his number and then call me back. ( At this point, I was thinking he’s going to think I’m some crazy person). 2 minutes later she called me back with his number. I called him and he said he would drive back to the hotel and take me out.
He picked me up and took me out to the pub where we shared a pitcher and some appys. We left the pub to go to Waikiki beach and laid out on a blanket talking until 2:30am. Before we drove back to the hotel, we kissed. It felt so perfect, and let’s be honest…this doesn’t happen in real life.
We hung out the following couple days before I flew back to Canada. He promised me to keep in touch and wanted to see me again. I know actions speak louder than words so when he actually booked me a ticket back a few months after when I was done with school, I knew he was serious.
We spent two amazing weeks and decided that finding each other was meant to be. Two and a half years of long distance later, he got accepted to graduate school and was able to move here. Now we’ve been together for almost four and a half years living together with our golden retriever, Brady.
how they asked: Back in May of this year, I submitted our story to The Nickerson’s (Vancouver based photographers). They were holding a contest for a Choose Your Own Adventure shoot. I told them the short version of how we met and what we would do if we won. A few weeks later, I received an email saying we won! I was so excited as I absolutely adore their work. I told Terry after he got home from work and we started to plan what we wanted to do. We decided that September 7th would work the best for us since the Nickerson’s would be on the island shooting a wedding the night before.
For the shoot, we decided to do a mini road trip out to the beach and make stops along the way. We stopped at a kayak harbour, lighthouse for a picnic and then to the cabins we spent our last anniversary. The main part of the shoot was Mystic Beach. It included a 45 minute hike down to the beach and a suspension bridge. Along the way the Nickerson’s had us play games by answering questions about the other person to evoke candid, natural emotion. Once we got down to the beach we walked towards a cove, away from the remaining people on the beach. The photographers positioned us around the light and water and had us tell the other person reasons we fell in love with each other. Starting with me, we went back and forth until it was Terry’s turn again. He told me he loved how adventurous I was and how our whole relationship had been an amazing adventure. He started tearing up and told me he wants to go on adventures with me for this rest of his life and before I knew it, he reached in his pocket and was down on one knee. He asked “will you marry me?” and I immediately said “yes!!”.
I couldn’t believe it when he told me he had contacted the Nickerson’s before the shoot telling them his plan to propose! They had known all along and worked with Terry to make sure the proposal went as smoothly as possible. I’m so glad to have these moments captures that we’ll cherish for the rest of our lives. I’ll never forget this day.
Photos by The Nickerson’s