Bride Drops Ring Down Sewage Drain During Engagement Shoot

At some point after getting engaged, many couples book an engagement photo shoot—an exciting way to commemorate the relationship milestone, kick off the wedding-planning process, and acquire a handful of pictures for their wedding stationery. Although these sessions are usually filled with positivity and joy, one couple’s engagement shoot induced panic after the bride-to-be accidentally dropped her engagement ring down a sewer drain. Luckily, the fire department sent a group of volunteers who saved the day.

After rescheduling their engagement photo shoot three different times due to poor weather, Corey Berebitsky and Niki Mack, a newly engaged couple, were thrilled to see that the forecast for their third session on November 24, 2024, finally called for beautiful conditions, according to People. The Lakewood-based pair headed to Italian Cultural Garden in Cleveland, Ohio, for their session and began posing for photos, surrounded by fall foliage. 

At the beginning of the shoot, their photographer, Emily Ruth, noticed something on Berebitsky’s pants. “My fiancé Niki, she reached down to wipe my pants off, and we heard the little ‘tink’ sound,” Berebitsky recalled to local station FOX 8 News. “Next thing we know, we saw the ring in the sewer…The first thing that goes through my head is, ‘Oh my God, we’ve been pushing off the ring resizing for so long, and of course this happens.’”

According to Berebitsky, Mack was “surprisingly calm”—that’s because she could see her ring in the drain, so she knew it wasn’t completely gone. Berebitsky, on the other hand, had an internal meltdown, mainly because the ring is irreplaceable: The center stone is flanked by baguette diamonds that were taken from both of their grandmother’s respective rings. “Money is one thing. You lose it, the insurance can pay for it or whatever,” Berebitsky noted. “But you can’t get the diamonds back from family.”

The duo—who’s planning a wedding for October 2025—knew all hope wasn’t lost, so they called the Cleveland Fire Station 30, who arrived at the site less than 10 minutes later. After Fire Station 30 Lieutenant Jeff Homan, along with firefighters Nick Palmer and Zach Lapuh, assessed the scene, they concluded that the gemstone was retrievable. “You could see like the diamond of this ring, just sitting there,” Homan told the local news station. “But it’s kind of sitting up where we will be able to get it.” 

The group decided to use a long metal wire with a loop at the end—which they usually employ to unlock car doors—to hook the ring. As they lowered the rod into the sewer and searched for the engagement ring, Ruth captured the entire process, but Berebitsky had to look away—too much was at stake for him. “I personally could not watch as they pulled it up just for fear it was going to fall [back] down,” he admitted. “But they were very calm and confident.” About five minutes later, the group of firefighters hooked the ring and pulled it from the drain. According to Berebitsky, the jewel looked better than ever. “It was actually extremely sparkly,” he revealed. “It’s like the sewer water cleaned it.”

Homan said Mack and Berebitsky were “super happy, supper appreciative” that they found their engagement ring. To return the favor, the engaged duo said they plan on sending the firefighters a gift, per People. And to prevent any future mishaps with their sentimental sparkler, they immediately brought the accessory to a jeweler to get it resized.