Reisa & Shane
The Story
September 17th, 2023 was the last day of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. After welcoming it with apples and honey two evenings prior, Reisa, Shane, and both of their families were set to celebrate at the home of Reisa's sister and brother-in-law, Kim and Matthew Gumnic.
Months earlier, Shane was designing logos for brands at work, and decided to draw one for he and Reisa. He drew several versions in a notebook and showed them to Reisa, who chose the best one - an "S" and an "R" joined together to form the shape of a heart. They both loved the concept of a single, simple shape representing each of them and their love simultaneously. It was like they had their own little logo.
Only the two of them knew of the logo, and it made appearances on handmade cards for birthdays or accompanying gifts.
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On the morning of September 17th, Reisa and Shane headed to the Gumnics' early to help prepare hosting family for the holiday. Unbeknownst to Reisa, Shane had spent most of the prior 2 days and 3 nights in a hotel room on 57th street creating a 4-foot tall sculpture of the "S" and "R" heart.
The Build
Shane spent close to 40 hours making a sculpture for Reisa.
He captured much of this journey on video, presented in the gallery below.​
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Upon arriving at the Gumnics', Matthew had to "go pick up food," which actually meant, "go pick up the sculpture." Shane offered to help, and off they went.
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Kim and Reisa were left to try and get the Gumnics' adorable 2-year-old, Emma, dressed. Emma was not in the mood for clothes that morning.
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Meanwhile, both families gathered in a park oft frequented by Emma that is a block away from the Gumnic residence. In attendance at the park were Reisa's parents, Richard and Laurie, and her twin sister, Sheri, and her boyfriend Steven, as well as Shane's mother, Robin, and sister, Chelsea. The plan had come together in roughly 2 days, so everyone in the park was a bit uncertain of what to expect and were left waiting for something to happen.
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Back at the Gumnics', Kim and Reisa wrestled with Emma to get her into her dress. Emma is as smart as she is cute. Typically, Kim would reason with her until Emma realized that in order to leave the house, she would need to get dressed. Today, they were on a schedule. It was up to Kim to get Reisa to the park for the proposal. There was no time to reason with a 2-year-old. Emma was putting on that dress, even if she was less than thrilled about it.
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At a hotel on 57th and Lexington, Matt and Shane were wheeling a 4-foot tall bubble wrapped mystery into an elevator and bringing it down to the curb. An Uber XL driver refused to put it in his trunk, as plaster was still crackling off of it. They waved down a large taxi and stood the sculpture in the trunk, holding it upright behind them.
Shane and Matthew sped to 70th street and arrived at the park before Kim and Reisa were able to coax Emma into her stroller. Shane had brought string lights and candles. Matt picked up some light pink roses to place on the ground. Both families leapt into action. Helping to carry the sculpture, hang the lights, arrange the candles, cover the grass with rose petals, Sheri and Chelsea even picked some flowers from some bushes inside the park (which they were then kindly asked to stop doing).
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Reisa, Kim, and Emma arrived at the other side of the park (without a fountain). Shane wiped the sweat from his brow, took a deep breath, and he and Matthew went to meet them. The Gumnics suggested moving to the side of the park with the fountain, and headed there first. Shane asked to show Reisa something and he brought her to the spot where, on Mother's Day of that year, he had asked Reisa's parents for her hand in marriage. The couple then headed to the side of the park with the fountain. Shane led Reisa towards the trellis, with the sculpture, lights, and candles beneath. The families waited off to the side. The rest is shown in the photos below.
The Photos
