Bryce Shelton, an enthusiastic storm chaser, knew that his girlfriend, Paige Berdomas, was the wind beneath his wings, so he proposed to her while a tornado raged behind them.
The proposal elicited a flood of emotions, and the two weather enthusiasts agreed to the engagement as an EF-3 tornado bore down on them in a darkening South Dakota sky.
“It was the most beautiful tornado I’ve ever seen in my life,” Paige told People about the “absolutely incredible” experience. “I couldn’t have asked for a better proposal!”
The two storm chasers have been dating for a year and a half, drawn together by their shared love of extreme weather, and Bryce says he’s been waiting nearly five months for the perfect meteorological moment to propose.
“I wanted to do it in South Dakota in front of a photogenic tornado, because South Dakota is our favorite state, both of us,” according to him. “And it just worked out perfect!”
They took a “normal” popping-the-question photo at first, but their friend Brandon Copic suggested they wait for something more fun, such as a moment of pure weather terror.
“Later on, the most photogenic tornado ever came down,” says Paige, who wore safety goggles for the occasion.
“We were in the tornado when it first came down. We got extremely close. Brandon is in front, and he pulls up and runs over, saying, ‘Okay, we’ve got to get a better picture.
