Denise and Katrina are both from the San Francisco Bay area and—in true California fashion, they say—met while working at In-N-Out Burger. “At first I didn’t like Denise,” says Kat. “She was a little too energetic, a little too bossy, and a little too playful for my serious self to handle while we flipped burgers for hours on end.” As they started getting to know each other, however, Kat realized that Denise was a great balance for her, and the two made each other laugh. There was no turning back and they’ve been together ever since.
Proposal Date: August 17, 2016
Denise proposed during a vacation in Venice, Italy.
Denise: “I knew I wanted to propose on our trip to Italy, and it was important to me that the moment be captured beautifully and artistically and not on an iPhone. When I found Flytographer, I looked through many photographers’ portfolios until Serena’s caught my eye. I contacted her to discuss my proposal ideas, and she made me feel comfortable and reassured that the secret proposal would go as planned. I knew a storm was expected to hit Venice the day I was going to propose, so the entire trip I kept downloading new weather apps to track the storm.
When Kat and I arrived in Venice, we had a bit of a setback. We took a water bus to the wrong side of the island and spent hours crossing canals looking for our hotel. I secretly contacted Serena to ask for help, and she responded with a map from our location to our hotel. We were so exhausted that we decided to rest before heading out for what I told Kat would be a relaxing dinner.”
Katrina: “After a long day traveling, I was really looking forward to the relaxing dinner Denise had planned. She told me the restaurant was a bit of a walk so we started on our way earlier than I expected. Denise is great at so many things but reading maps isn’t one of them, so I offered to navigate us in the direction the restaurant was said to be.”
Denise: “Serena and I planned that Kat and I would take a selfie on the bridge, and that would be her cue that it was proposal time.”
Katrina: “When we arrived at a bridge I turned and asked Denise where to go next. She seemed confused. The wind was kicking up, and I thought we were lost again, but in Denise’s typical, positive fashion, she suggested we take a selfie on the beautiful bridge before figuring out what to do next.
I turned to fix my hair in the wind for the picture and when I turned back around, Denise was on one knee with the happiest smile I’ve ever seen and a box in her hand. I was absolutely shocked. A photographer (who I now know as the lovely Serena) was snapping pictures of us to my right, and when I put it all together, I started laughing and crying at once.”
Denise: “I got down on one knee and asked the love of my life to spend the rest of our lives together.”
Katrina: “Of course, I said yes.”
Denise: “Almost as soon as Kat said yes, the storm hit! We could see the clouds moving in quickly, so we introduced ourselves and got right to the shoot. Kat was in total shock. When the rain started to come down hard we ended up taking shelter in a bar where we grabbed cappuccinos before calling it a night. We were all drenched from the rain, but couldn’t stop laughing at the entire experience. When the storm cleared Serena called us a water taxi and captured the end of the most memorable night of our lives.”
Katrina: “I still can’t believe Denise was able to plan such a beautiful proposal from halfway around the world, and I’m so grateful to Serena for capturing the happiest moment of my life.”
Denise and Kat will be married in 2018. Photos by Serena Genovese from their proposal below.