Haitian Refugee turned Coast Guard proposes to Girlfriend at The White House.

A refugee who escaped Haiti and grew up to be a member of the U.S. Coast Guard chose the perfect location to propose to his girlfriend according to ABC News:


Orlando Morel, who was rescued by the Coast Guard off the Florida coast when he was 6 years old and later adopted by a retired Navy petty officer, dropped to one knee in the Blue Room to surprise his girlfriend of nearly six months, Shameeka Edwards.

Morel, 28, is now a naval engineer with the Coast Guard after graduating from the Coast Guard Academy four years ago. He met his now-fiancée on the job — Edwards, 30, is a Coast Guard civilian employee who works in Morel’s building.

So how did Morel pull off proposing in the White House last Saturday and capturing it all on film? Edwards told ABC News that looking back at her proposal, she actually helped him unknowingly.

The New Orleans native said the couple had already planned to tour White House for Morel’s birthday. Edwards invited her best friend, her dad and her two kids from a previous relationship to come along. She hired Judah Avenue Photography to come too, thinking that she’d get memorable family photos out of the once-in-a-lifetime experience. What she didn’t realize is that Morel contacted the company afterward to let the staff know of his plans.

“That day … it was raining. I was like, ‘Man it’s cold.’ I had no idea what was going on,” Edwards recalled. “We started going through all of the rooms, taking pictures and when we get to the Blue Room … I turn my head and I turn back around and he’s down on one knee.