New York-based filmmaker and photographer Jay Dekony has spent nearly a decade crafting cinematic love stories, but a recent project has captured attention across the world, going viral on Instagram with more than 9 million views.
Dekony, who has worked in the industry for eight years, is known for wedding and engagement shoots. "My work isn't just about documenting weddings and couples, it's about building cinematic stories that feel intentional and personal," she told Newsweek.
Her work captured the attention of Calvin Jimenez, who was planning the perfect proposal to surprise his now-fiancée Tally, who is a big fan of Dekony's work.
After spotting on Instagram that Dekony was visiting Florida, Jimenez initially tried to plan a surprise shoot there. When scheduling conflicts made it impossible, he reached out again with a bigger request: would Dekony fly to London to capture the proposal inside the Natural History Museum?
Dekony didn't hesitate. "My answer was of course an enthusiastic yes," she recalled.
"Tally showed me Jay's page a few years ago and I instantly fell in love with her work but more importantly the person behind the lens, Jay seemed so genuine," groom-to-be Jimenez told Newsweek.
The museum, rented out privately for the occasion, provided a dramatic backdrop. Surrounded by candlelight, Jimenez popped the question -- what followed made the moment unforgettable.
While the proposal itself was beautiful, it was Tally's reaction to discovering that one of her favorite filmmakers was recording the moment that really captured attention.
As she looked over to the camera, she was delighted to spot Dekony filming the moment. Her jaw dropped and she jumped up to see her. "Oh my god. He didn't do that," she said.
"Was I surprised by Tally's reaction? Absolutely," Dekony said. "While I have had a similar reaction from another client in the past, I never expected it to happen again. To see someone else have such love and care for my work was truly an experience I will always remember."
"I couldn't believe it, I was just in utter shock," Tally Brattle told Newsweek. "Naturally with everything that had just happened getting engaged in this amazing venue that is the National History Museum which was our first date when we moved to London, I was just so grateful for everything I was struggling to even take it all in and then when Calvin told me it was Jay and the team, well it just took me over the edge."
The video has since drawn huge attention online, racking up millions of views and thousands of comments.
Others shared their reactions to the heartwarming moment. "I would legitimately burst into tears if someone reacted like that to me being somewhere to photograph them. This is so cool! I love it," said one commenter.
Another wrote: "One photographer to another, congratulations to you for building this amazing client. I know what work that took and this brought tears of happiness to my eyes!!"
While one Instagram user said: "This is the cutest thing ever."
"Jay is honestly one of the kindest people we have ever met and her work is the best I have seen, so for Jay to help make this evening so special and capture everything even better than we ever imagined it just fills us with so much joy," Jimenez said. "The comments that have come flooding in after Jay's post has been so lovely we feel so lucky."