Brandon had his late grandmother’s ring to surprise Chloe at their People’s Gas Pavilion proposal in Lincoln Park. It took her a moment to believe it was real.
Not every proposal goes exactly to plan. When one does, it feels a little like a dream. Brandon and Chloe drove in from Pittsburgh for a weekend in Chicago, and Brandon picked the People’s Gas Pavilion, known locally as the Honeycomb, as the spot to propose.
This is a busy place. The Honeycomb sits along the South Pond in Lincoln Park and it draws tourists, family photo sessions, engagement shoots, yoga classes, wedding ceremonies, and corporate events. The wooden lattice canopy is one of the most recognizable pieces of contemporary architecture in the city. Getting the space to yourselves takes planning.
Brandon and I had been talking about this for months.
A Lincoln Park Proposal Weekend
Brandon and Chloe are the kind of couple who make the most of a weekend away, which was part of why this worked. They planned a Chicago vacation. Chloe had her nails done. She put on a cute dress. Brandon told her they were just going for a walk through Lincoln Park before breakfast. She had no reason to think otherwise since they do this on their other vacations.
The weather cooperated in a way you cannot count on in Chicago. Not too hot. Not too cold. No wind. And critically for a location this popular, nobody else was around the pavilion. We had the Honeycomb to ourselves.
The Honeycomb is not the kind of place you can just walk into and expect privacy. Timing, weather, and a little planning are what turn it from a tourist stop into a proposal spot.
The joke from the day before
Here is the detail that made this proposal unique. The day before, Chloe had been joking around with Brandon about a scene from The Office, where Jim keeps pulling fake proposal moments on Pam before actually asking her. Chloe told Brandon she was surprised he had never pulled off a fake proposal like that.
Brandon did not say anything to give himself away. He just filed it and moved on.
Twenty-four hours later, on their walk through Lincoln Park, Brandon reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. Chloe stared at him. Was this a joke? Was she Pam? He got down on one knee. Chloe kept staring.
The longest few seconds of my career
This is where it got interesting for me. I was unaware of The Office reference. All I knew was that Chloe did not react the way most people do. Her mouth stayed slightly open. Her jaw dropped a little but she was not smiling. Her eyes moved between Brandon’s face and the ring and then back to his face. Then down to the ring again. Then back up.
TEN SECONDS OF THIS.
As a photographer who has documented a lot of proposals, I have seen a lot of first reactions. Tears. Nervous laughter. Hands over mouths. Jumping up and down. What I had not seen before was a full stunned silence for this long.
There was a moment where I actually wondered if this was going to be the first proposal in my career to get turned down. My finger stayed on the shutter but I honestly did not know what was about to happen.
What was really happening: Chloe was trying to figure out if this was a joke. Because of the conversation the day before, her brain was trying to process whether Brandon was pulling one of the fake-out scenarios she had mentioned, or whether this was real. She was studying his face for a hint of the punchline.
And then it hit her. This was real. That was actually the ring. This was actually the moment.
Her face changed. The smile came. She could not hold it in anymore. She said yes, and the whole scene finally exhaled.
Brandon was equally relieved. Not because he thought she would say no, but because he had been carrying this moment inside himself for months.
The ring belonged to Brandon’s grandmother.
She had passed away just a few months earlier, and Brandon wanted to honor her by proposing with her ring. Kept it hidden through the planning. Kept it hidden in the car on the drive from Pittsburgh. Kept it in his pocket through the walk into Lincoln Park. And now it was on Chloe’s hand, and it was going to stay there.
Watching Brandon after the proposal, you could see how much of his shoulders came down. The weight of carrying a ring that meant that much, for that long, and then finally getting to give it to the person it was meant for. You could see it in his face afterwards.
A walk through Lincoln Park, then North Avenue Beach
After the proposal itself, we took our time. Brandon and Chloe walked up onto the bridge just north of the Honeycomb for a series of portraits with the South Pond and the Chicago skyline behind them.
Then we took a walk over to North Avenue Beach for a few more portraits with the skyline. A few clouds had rolled in over the lakefront by then, which actually gave us a more unique skyline than the standard clear-blue backdrop.
Planning a Honeycomb proposal of your own?
The Honeycomb is popular for a reason. The wooden lattice canopy, the way the light filters through it, the South Pond and skyline just beyond, all make for a distinctive backdrop that does not look like anywhere else in Chicago. But that popularity is also the challenge. If you are considering it as your proposal location, a few things are worth knowing.
Time it early. Weekday mornings before 9am are your best window for having the pavilion mostly to yourselves. Weekends fill up quickly, especially in warmer months, and by mid-morning you will be sharing the space with tourists, family shoots, and possibly a yoga class or two.
Weather matters more here than at other locations. Wind through the canopy changes the whole feeling of the space. Overcast light actually works well here because it softens the shadows from the wooden lattice. A perfectly still, mild day is the ideal.
Have a backup plan. Because the Honeycomb is unpredictable in terms of who else is there, it helps to have a nearby second option. The bridge just to the north gives you an entirely different angle with the pond and skyline. North Avenue Beach is a short walk away. Lincoln Park itself has enough variety that if the pavilion is too crowded, we can pivot.
Coordinate with your photographer. This is a public park, but a proposal moves quickly and being able to position ahead of time makes the difference between capturing it well and missing it. You can reach out if you want more details on how to plan a Honeycomb proposal like this one.
If you are considering other locations, I put together a guide to the best Chicago proposal locations with a growing list of spots ranging from rooftops to gardens to skyline overlooks.
Congratulations, Brandon and Chloe. From Pittsburgh to Chicago to a ring that carried a family’s love with it, this one was a good one to be part of.
PLANNING YOUR CHICAGO PROPOSAL?
Let’s plan yours together.
I’m Kenny Nakai, a Chicago wedding photographer who has been documenting proposals across the city since 2007. From the Honeycomb to the Riverwalk to hidden rooftops most photographers do not know about, I help you plan, scout, and execute the surprise, and capture every second of it beautifully. See my Chicago proposal photographer service for pricing and process.
