Photographer Anthony Sparks has taken his fair share of proposal shots. But, the Morgantown resident wasn’t able to capture the one during Wednesday’s debut of Destination Producing’s “Mamma Mia!” at the Metropolitan Theatre, as this time around he was the one popping the question.
“I’m so excited,” Sparks said hours before proposing to Emily Faro. “We both have very outgoing, in-your-face personalities. Who else is going to stand on stage in front of 250 people? She deserves it.”
Together for almost three years, the pair bought a home together in November. Sparks spent months planning the event, arranging for both of their families to be attendance, hiding in the balconies.
While Faro thought he was simply doing his job for the last 20 minutes of the show she was still watching, Sparks was instead gearing up to surprise the love of his life.
“I’m going to spill my heart out and bawl my eyes out,” he said. After his speech, he asked the powers that be to hit the music and play “Stand By Me,” which was Faro’s parents’ wedding song. “Then I’m going to say, ‘It’s pretty lonely up here. Do you want to join me?’ … I was just dreaming about this for so long then things started to line up.
“I shoot a lot of surprise proposals and have taken Emily to a handful. I know I can outdo all the ones I’ve shot.”
