A professional saxophonist who had played thousands of events for others finally got to play his dream performance – surprising his girlfriend by performing ahead of a surprise proposal.
Emmanuel Garilus, 26, from Orlando, Florida, has been playing the sax for more than a decade, performing at government events, luxury gatherings, and high-end corporate get-togethers.
Competitively, Emmanuel, who goes by Eman, has seen success – even being crowned the 2025 Amateur Night Grand Finale Winner at the Apollo Theatre in New York, the first saxophonist to take home the title in the event’s 90-year history.
But a couple of months after claiming that title, Eman had a more personal performance planned for his girlfriend, Loreen “Lolo” Jacques, 27, who often attends events with him.
Eman knew he wanted to propose overlooking his native Orlando, so he, the director of an arts fellowship he is part of, and his brother decided to create a fake event that Eman could say he would like Lolo to attend.
As a stunned Lolo looked around the room, the saxophonist played ‘In a Sentimental Mood’ by John Coltrane and Duke Ellington, her favorite jazz song, before the pair came together and Eman spoke sweet words about their relationship.
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The 26-year-old then asked Lolo to marry him, in a beautiful moment that was captured on video and later viewed more than half a million times online.
Lolo said: “I was in disbelief.
“We had talked about marriage before, but it always felt like a 2026 goal for us…. A proposal wasn’t even on my radar.
“I was so taken aback that I needed him to help unfreeze time for me.
“Emmanuel spoke the sweetest words over me and into our relationship, and then he asked me to marry him.
“I felt so admired and adored by him that day.”
