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Cadillac Square Park and Campus Martius have a charmingly huggy-kissy vibe this time of year.
They're happening hangouts all year, sure – but twinkling lights, carriage bells, fire pits, a decorated tree and a skating rink set an especially romantic scene. So does at least one guy on bended knee to present a ring.
Tyler and Shelby pose after he took a knee and proposed at Parc restaurant recently. "They kissed and the whole restraurant cheered," posts photographer Shelby Monnette.
Cadillac Lodge, part of downtown Detroit's third annual winter market, stays open through Jan. 26. It's more than a beer tent, game room and warming hut. It's also a holiday photo studio, in effect – a setting used by professional photographers and selfie-snappers alike.
The free attraction is open New Year’s Eve from 11 a.m. until 1 a.m. New Year's Day "with a DJ playing jams all night," an event listing says.
The collection below of 14 recent Instagrams from couples and a few engagement photographers extend a tradition we started in 2016 and revived Dec. 17 and Nov. 30. They show Detroit's charm and sentimentality in a season of promise and passion.
We hope those emotions burn brightly for you too.
Detroit Lions punter Sam Martin, 29, and Nastia Liukin, 30, are at the winter market in Cadillac Square Park. She's a five-time Olympic medalist who retired from gymnastics in 2012.
Alex Graham, 23, and Ryan got engaged this month. They've been a couple since 2014 at MSU.
Wayne State students Timothy Johnson and Megan Miller visited Cadillac Lodge last weekend.
Logan Marquis and Emily Mobley, both 21, strapped on skates. She graduated this year from Central Michigan University.
Graphic designer Shannon Esper and her husband "took advantage of trhe nice weather" Thursday, she posts. The couple lives in Riverview. She has an art degree from Eastern Michigan University.
J. Swellen poses in The Belt alley with fiance Adam McHale, a 30-year-old Clawson resident. (Photo: Amanda Lalama)
Spencer Breen and fiance Jessica Lynne Orille, 25, pose at Cadillac Lodge. The Royal Oak High School alumni plan a May wedding.
Michelle Shook and husband.
Tina and Rick Truhol came to Cadillac Lodge last Saturday, dressed with Christmas flair.
Ryan and his wife Marie, a nurse practitioner, enjoyed "a date in Detroit" last Saturday, they post on Instagram.
Gina and Elliott Kohler grab a Cadillac Lodge selfie on a recent afternoon.
Devon O'Reilly, 34, and his wife caught "The Nutcracker" last Sunday at the Fox Theatre. He has worked at the Detroit Regional Chamber for more than five years.
Stacy and Shawn Stafford, married since 2017, checked out glittery downtown on the weekend before Christmas.
Tyler and Shelby, also shown alongside our article above, struck lots of poses for their engagement album.
(Photo: Shelby Monnette | monnettephoto.com)
