Surprise proposal at Patterson Park in Baltimore, Maryland

“When Kira and I met, the connection was instantaneous. We’d gone ring shopping so she knew that I would eventually propose but I still wanted it to be a special surprise. Being a photographer, she’s often my model and I told her we were going to shoot with a photographer friend, Margarita. Margarita was going to work with us both on getting out of our comfort zones. We met at Patterson Park which has a beautiful pagoda at the top. Some time had passed when I said I forgot something in the car so I’d meet them at the next location, the pagoda. Once at the top, I was waiting for Kira and Margarita. I had a friend set up a path of mason jars with twinkle lights in them and flower petals leading to where I was. When she came around the corner, she had the biggest smile and couldn’t stop kissing me before I even spoke. When I finally got on one knee she said, ‘Of course!'” —from Noel, one half of the couple

“She got me good! Noel insisted that I get dressed up so we could go out and shoot some photos. See, I can be camera shy but I often am the subject of her art because she’s able to practice her photography and she thinks I’m America’s Next Top Model. I knew that Margarita, her friend that happens to be a professional photographer, would be joining under the guise that she’d be giving both Noel and me a few tips. At one point we split up because Noel ‘forgot’ something in the car and planned to meet back up at the pagoda that overlooks the rest of the park. We found each other at sunset and Noel had lined the path surrounding the structure with mason jars filled with twinkling lights and flower petals. She proposed exactly five years from the day we met and when she got on one knee, I said, ‘Of course!'” —from Kira, one half of the couple