Lightning Bolt Strikes at Exact Moment Couple Gets Engaged, Makes an Epic Engagement Photo

Couple Engagement Photo Shoot

Just as a couple got engaged on a mountain in Canada, nature shot a lightning streak to seemingly give its approval. Although this sounds like something out of a storybook, it really happened—and photographer Danika Camba was there to capture it. The once-in-a-lifetime picture shows the exact moment that Alisa Hemming told her boyfriend Liam Duncan that yes, she would marry him. In the background of their embrace is the white-purple lightning bolt, adding an extra bit of magic to an already joyous occasion.

Duncan booked the photography session with Camba, but wanted to keep the engagement a total surprise. In order to do so, he told Hemming that it was going to be a standard couple’s photography session. “We started on a small trail on the backside of Knox Mountain in Kelowna British Columbia,” Camba tells My Modern Met, “and as we were walking I took a few photos of them and chatted a bit—nothing out of the ordinary of a ‘normal couples photography session.’”

It was raining as they were walking up the mountain, and the group had already seen a couple of flashes of lightning. But they couldn’t turn around. “We were right at the viewpoint already,” Camba explains, “and to Ailsa’s great surprise, her parents (from Vancouver) and her best friends (from Ontario) were standing there!” Duncan then got down on one knee and asked Hemming to marry him; that’s when the thunder rumbled and lightning struck.

The weather wasn’t at the top of Camba’s mind as she was photographing the moment. She was too focused on the proposal itself. “But looking back,” she says, “it makes sense that I got the shot since the lightning was so close, and at that point, I was shooting many frames since it was THE proposal moment, so I’m pretty on the ball and shooting lots during that kind of moment. Sure enough, I scrolled through and checked the back of the camera during all the excitement, and there it was!”

Scroll down to see more of those photos from the charmed photo session—it also included a rainbow!

A lightning bolt struck just as Liam Duncan and his girlfriend Alisa Hemming got engaged.

Couple Engagement Photo Shoot

It sounds like something out of a storybook, but it really happened—and photographer Danika Camba was there to capture it.

Couple Engagement Photo Shoot

Couple Engagement Photo Shoot

The engagement was kept a surprise from Hemming and billed as a regular couple's photo shoot. Little did she know her friends and family were there to witness the happy moment.

Couple Engagement Photo Shoot

Couple Engagement Photo Shoot

Couple Engagement Photo Shoot

Couple Engagement Photo Shoot

Couple Engagement Photo Shoot

The happy couple even saw a rainbow!

Couple Engagement Photo Shoot

Danika Camba: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Danika Camba. 

Related Articles:

Couple Has Engagement Photo Shoot at Olive Garden for “Italy Vibes” in Tennessee

Hungry Squirrel Hilariously Photobombs Couple’s Engagement Photo Shoot

Couple’s Romantic Engagement Shoot in the Woods Is Accidentally Crashed by a Black Metal Band

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
Become a
My Modern Met Member
As a member, you'll join us in our effort to support the arts.

Sponsored Content