My friend Alessandra was visiting from Texas for Christmas and New Year’s. We had met 14 years ago while I was working in video production. I have since changed careers, but she is still in the field working as a reality TV producer. While she was in town, Joe, Alessandra, and I decided to spend New Year’s Eve together in my hometown of Rockford, IL. As part of our festivities for the day, we drove down at 9pm to the Sinnissippi Park for the 30th anniversary of their Festival of Lights. I’ve been going there as a tradition for many Christmases with my family since I was a kid, so we decided it would be a great way to end the year. About halfway through the light display, there was one that simply said LOVE. I thought — that would be a great photo! I asked Joe to stop the car so we could get out and take a picture. Since she is a great photographer (being in TV and such!), I asked Alessandra to take a few pics of us next to the sign. I then turned to him and asked him to kiss me for a photo. Then all of a sudden, Joe got down on one knee in the snow!! I was so surprised because I had initiated the photo op! The first thought that my brain came up with was that this was a joke! So I said, “Is this for real?” And then—still in my moment of shock, “Where’s the ring?!” Even as he was kneeling there and getting the ring out of his pocket, I still was certain that he was kidding! While we had talked previously about getting married, I simply wasn’t expecting a proposal in that moment! He totally surprised me and caught me off guard! But he slipped the ring on my finger and I—of course—said YES! And then immediately—being the video producers that we are—Alessandra and I both said, “Can we do that again and catch it on video this time?” Joe cracked up and then she and I started laughing at ourselves! We didn’t “recreate the moment” but we did get a few more photos to capture it anyway!