Elevators: we walk up, press the call button, and wait for what feels like an eternity for the *ding* signifying our ride has arrived. Soon a stranger joins us in waiting for our vertical transport, and we both silently look down, up, anywhere to avoid eye contact with each other. If our eyes happen to meet, an awkward smile ensues followed by more silence, or at most, a quip about how long these things take. But what if this short moment with a stranger could be so much more? What if, unbeknownst to us, this is the most important moment of our lives?

Two years ago on a rainy evening in Pittsburgh, a girl from Texas named Jordyn found herself waiting for an elevator at her hotel. Soon a guy from Chicago named Steven joined her in waiting for the dumb-waiter. They made eye contact, smiled, but Steven didn’t waste his time with a quip about elevator speed. He recognized this as a moment that could change their lives and he took it. That chance meeting at an elevator led to three hours together the next day in the hotel lobby. Three weeks later, Steven was on a flight to Texas to meet her family, and nearly every weekend after one of them was flying to Chicago or Houston to visit the other.

After a year of flights, Jordyn and Steven found themselves on the beach in Pensacola, Florida. As the Sun set on the horizon and the waves lapped on the shore, Steven fished a ring box out of his (according to Jordyn) too tight jeans, dropped to a knee, and proposed. That moment, and for that matter their entire wedding, would have never been possible without an earlier moment involving an elevator and a choice to talk to a stranger. I know for a fact that both Jordyn and Steven will never look at an elevator the same way again.

Filmed with the Sony A7Sii, Sony FS700, and Sony FS100. Edited with Adobe Premiere. Colored with Magic Bullet Looks.

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