Samantha + Arek's Surprise Proposal at Syracuse University

Arek had big plans for his girlfriend Samantha. They were visiting Syracuse over the 4th of July and he knew this would be the perfect chance for a surprise proposal at the same location they had their first date.

Arek and I have a mutual friend from Cazenovia College who recommended hiring me to document the occasion. We scheduled a Zoom call to officially meet and go over his plan the week beforehand. I was insanely impressed by his attention to detail! He gave me a minute-by-minute itinerary of their day, along with a map of Syracuse University’s JMA Wireless Dome (previously the Carrier Dome) - the site chosen for the big moment. Arek has a background in athletics event planning for higher education, which made him a natural at planning a surprise proposal at an arena. I could tell by his level of perfection just how important this was to him!

When the big day finally arrived, I ran into the JMA Wireless Dome and hid in one of the concessions areas while Samantha and Arek walked around the center of the arena. Their very first date took place at a Syracuse University basketball game, so they took some time reminiscing on that and admiring the recent updates to the building. Arek brought along his ticket from that very first game and the two of them tried to find their original seats while I slowly moved into position to catch the surprise proposal.

While Samantha was pointing to where she thought the seats might be, Arek dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him. (She said yes!)

I gave them a few moments together in pure bliss before moving in closer to congratulate them and take a few more photos. We made sure to grab some pictures in the seats from their first date, along with some really sweet ones in the end zone. The newly engaged couple headed out to meet up with family and celebrate.

Thank you to Arek for trusting me to capture this special occasion and to Samantha for going with the flow after such an emotional moment. I cannot wait to see you both again this summer for your Hotel Syracuse wedding!

Ring: Brilliant Earth