David and Tiffany: Engaged

David and Tiffany are one of those couples that are just so stinkin’ cute together you have to see them to see how in love they are - luckily for everyone, I brought my camera along for their Fall Shenandoah engagement session - hard to be a photographer without a camera after all!

Among the gold and orange leaves falling from the trees like crisp snow, David and Tiffany explored the forest along the Shenandoah Valley; a place they both love and have spent much time exploring and enjoying all the views it has to offer through all the different seasons. With the warm sun shimmering through the trees, and the cool breeze atop a mountain guiding the sun below the horizon under a blanket of blue and purple clouds, David and Tiffany made a day of all of Shenandoah’s best for the engagement session.

What better way to end a day than touring Virginia wineries?

Bayard and Margaret: Engaged

This October has been the busiest month for me all year (if you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know what I’ve been up to and all the places I’ve been the last few weeks). I am very glad, however, that I was able to get October started by spending an evening with Bay and Maggie photographing their engagement in downtown Alexandria.

You might remember Bay and Maggie from their July 4th airport proposal as Margaret arrived home from a stay overseas. Bay and Maggie met at William and Mary, and now call Alexandria, portions of which closely resemble Williamsburg, home. With the beautiful cobblestone streets and lines of lights, the old city is warm and beautiful even on a cool evening as dusk rolls in.

These two are just adorkable and I love it.

Bayard and Margaret: The Proposal

Bay and I have known each other since 2005, when we started our first day of work on the exact same day together, so when he reached out asking about proposing to Margaret upon her arrival back from Iceland, I was excited to be a part of it!  Bay had everything ready; flowers hidden as not to immediately give himself away, a quote by Jane Austen, Maggie's favorite author, memorized, and a few helpers hidden including myself to spot Maggie and capture the proposal.  After a bit of anxious waiting, and texting while the flight was deplaning, Maggie finally came out the doors and Bay greeted her with a question he couldn't wait any longer to ask.

She said yes!

Leo and Chelsea: The Proposal

Leo and Chelsea have been dating since 2008.  The two met each other through friends at George Mason, and in the early times of their relationship, including their first date, they spent hours standing by the Reston Town Center skating rink talking into the wee hours of morning.  The two have been inseparable since they met and got together.  They graduated together; Leo watched Chelsea start her career with the Fairfax County Park Authority, and Chelsea watched Leo become a Fairfax County Police Officer.

Leo and I have known each other since high school; we had a math class together, and I always admired his car since we parked right by each other.  Incidentally, I met Chelsea in a psychology class at Mason.  So when Leo contacted me and told me he's popping the question, of course I was going to be there for them!

Because their relationship began in the plaza by the skating rink, it's only natural that that's the spot Leo had chosen to drop to one knee and pop the question.  The plan was simple; take Chelsea on a little date before Leo's family's weekly dinner... little did Chelsea know that it was just a ruse to get her back to the spot where it all began.  But that wasn't the biggest surprise Leo had in store for her; he had both their families and friends standing by waiting so they could all be witness to this big moment in their life together.

Leo had been giving me updates all afternoon, and when I spotted them, I hid behind some columns alongside the skating rink, just across from where they'd stopped.  Leo and Chelsea's longtime friends Emily and Ted had positioned themselves just across from me behind a directory to secretly film.  Finally it was time; Leo pointed out their family and friends, and even their dogs Calvin and Ollie, hidden in plain sight across the street, and dropped to one knee.

She said yes!

Some of the skaters had noticed what was going on the instant Leo dropped to one knee, and when he slipped on the ring and the kissed, the entire skating rink cheered for newly engaged Leo and Chelsea along with their family and friends.

Coincidentally, while waiting for Leo and Chelsea to arrive, I spotted another couple get engaged; you never know if a couple has a photographer for marriage proposals, so I snapped away when I spotted the gentleman dropping to one knee, and got them my contact information before they walked away.  If you are this couple, please contact me so I can deliver your pictures.

Rachel and Andrew: Engaged

Rachel and Andrew are a fun couple that loves wine tasting, the outdoors, and their animals; two dogs and two horses.

Not so secretly I've been excited for this shoot for months... it was just a waiting game with Mother Nature.  Finally, after months of bitter cold, the DC area actually got a snowstorm perfect for Rachel and Andrew's snowy engagement session.

As an outgoing couple, naturally it was no surprise a snowball fight quickly broke out.

Even the dogs got in on the action!

While Rachel and Andrew have energy abound, things really got crazy when they brought their horses out to play in the snow.  First was Tori, who is a Section D Welsh Cob.

Next to join the fun was Anakin, Tori's energetic son.  Anakin is a mix of a Section D Welsh Cob and a Section B Welsh Mountain Pony.