AUSTIN -- It was a marriage proposal they thought no one else even saw. But now, thanks to the internet, one Austin couple's big moment is being shared all over the world.
When it comes to love, everyone has a story.
For Joel Bush, it's been a story in the works since he met Jen Orr a few years ago, a story he planned to add to a few nights ago at the Texas Capitol. What he didn't plan on was crossing paths with U.T. senior Patrick Lu, and his camera.
In the few seconds it took for Bush to kneel down and propose to his girlfriend of several years, Lu didn't waste any time.
"My friend spotted it," explained Lu. "My camera doesn't have a zoom so I kind of had to creep down closer."
Patrick snapped the photo, pulling off a near perfect shot as Bush knelt down asking Orr to marry him.
"You just have to predict these things and approach it correctly or else you just miss the shot," smiled Lu. "I went back to my friend to show her and look at my results and then they were gone."
The photo turned out so well, Lu posted it on Reddit, a site where user votes can get one photo a lot of attention.
"Yeah, I didn't really expect it to be that popular," Lu admitted. "I just expected it to get like my usual 50, 60 upvotes."
Only this time, the votes kept coming. A few hours later, the candid proposal was Reddit's top post. Social media site Mashable even featured it on their homepage.
"I checked the post and there was a link saying that the guy found it," said Lu.
On his Twitter page, Joel Bush wrote,"What, the what?! Thank you internet!"
Congratulations poured in, connecting the couple with their surprise photographer. As for a copy of the real photo, Lu isn't asking for much.
"Coffee would be nice," said the amateur photographer. "Coffee and maybe a slice of cheesecake tomorrow or something like that."
A coffee and some cheesecake, not a bad price to pay for a captured love story that's only begun.
Joel Bush and Jen Orr weren't available to meet with Lu Friday, however the three will meet for the first time Saturday morning.
You can watch the story on that special moment Saturday evening on KVUE and find it on kvue.com.
